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Hello again! Sorry for the multiple posts but just wondering whether anyone has a list of things that helped their recovery go smoothly? For instance, things you’ll want in the weeks right after surgery like heat pads, ice packs (which is better?)…I saw somewhere else that someone recommended a reclining chair?? I have 2 little boys at home, and I want to be as present as possible so I’m looking for any advice on how to recover safely but still be comfortable and active.

I realize this is an older thread...but it is still near the top of page and I suppose the "most recent" of it's type ? A pile of stuff has occurred in my life since I was active here on B,Pals. My 10th year sleeve anniversary is coming up later this year. Lost a ton of unwanted weight as a result of the sleeve. Daily trips to gym were the norm. no longer drank beer, but found that sugar free mixers and high grade tequilas and vodkas made for some FUN fuel for many adventures. Storm clouds loomed heavily over my marriage. Some unresolved issues resurfaced in a big ugly way. It appeared divorce was most probable. The storm finally broke....my ship hadn't crashed on the rocks... my wife still my first mate, ally, friend and lover....marriage was stronger than ever. 6 years ago she received a diagnosis for stage 4 breast cancer. Immediately stopped drinking when that diagnosis was delivered. 4 years ago she succumbed to the evil hell of cancer. She fought it with superhuman strength and courage. I will live the rest of my years in awe of her bravery and grit. It has been an incredibly tough go of it since. Her unshakable faith stoked my own faith. That is what I leaned on heavily....and will continue to do so. Early last month, the anniversary of her death was approaching. I was filled with this feeling of guilt in addition to the ever present loss & grief. The guilt was spurned by the realization that I had taken zero steps towards what she had told me to do...afterwards. She was clear that she wanted me to live. I was going to work every day and that was the extent of it. I'd maintained zero friendships and seldom contact my family, other than our son. The hurricane damage had been repaired on the house, yet I'd done nothing towards moving stuff back into the rooms that were repaired. Was living off take out and drive through garbage because I couldn't bring myself to cook...painful memories of meals made & shared together. ENOUGH. That was the word that hung heavy in the air. I could almost hear it as if she'd spoken it loudly. ENOUGH, GREG...IT IS TIME TO MAN-UP I began taking inventory right then. I vowed to not let another year go by with me still living in a bubble...not treading water, but sinking. I have remained alcohol free since quitting those six years. Clear headed and no monsters to address there. Good. Doctors appointment for annual checkup had revealed several things....top of which was my blood panel looked like trash...precisely because that is what my diet consisted of....pure trash. There had been some weight regain...but nothing that I felt like would be too difficult to lose....if I would get my arse in gear and make the lifestyle changes needed. Things were going okay on my job, simply because I'd let it be my focus...the only thing I rallied for. Spent way too much time there. Immediately scheduled some vacation time off and road tripped to visit family Visited my wife's grave....our gravesite and did so with a different feel....loss and missing her....but, feeling more stable for the first time since losing her. She'd forced me to sit down, months before passing, and listen to her on a certain subject matter that I was avoiding. told me to live...how to live....wanted me to continue on with all aspects of life and was very descriptive. She would make ongoing instruction in the months ahead. I couldn't speak in reply...just nod that I understood. She was so brave that she could accept things and love me enough to coach me how to live....afterwards. I was too much of a coward to discuss it....just sat there and listened and acknowledged. She would KICK my arse if she saw the state of low I'd been to. One day, perhaps, I will be able to show her that I heard her and rallied. That time will be at the end of my days, however. Until then, there is much life to live. RESETTING THE SLEEVE WAS EASY: I simply swapped over to strict keto. After two weeks I felt much better....after a month I no longer wanted the crap foods and I no longer wanted big meals. The smaller meals reset things for me. There is a noticeable restriction and feeling of full that occurs now. I haven't finished a meal in a month...unless it was a 1/2 sized meal. Sipping water all day...cutting off prior to meals and 30 mins after. Zero sugar intake an damn few non-fiber carbs. Supplementing with vitamins, iron, potassium and calcium. Moving more....but still not ready for the gym and all the people. Slowly feeling emotionally more "awake". Keto, with an eye on the overall daily calorie intake is how I live now. I don't see changing that. By the time that 10th surgery anniversary arrives, I suspect I will be at my all time lowest weight since college. The sleeve is still there. It just needed me to treat it right and not override it with trash food.

Hi everyone 🩷 posting here as well as in the revision surgery forums in hopes to get a discussion going. I’m considering having revision surgery and have an appointment with my doctor next week. I’d love to hear some of your experiences with revision surgery, what surgery you ultimately went with for the revision, the process and road to your actual surgery date, post op experience - anything you’re willing to share ☺️… soo lay it on me ! The good, the great, the bad, and the ugly! I had gastric sleeve surgery and lost about a 100 lbs and kept it off for about 4 years but since having a baby about 2 years ago I’ve really been struggling with my weight again. Gastric sleeve to bypass seems to be the most popular route however I also see that some people have had other surgeries done such as a duodenal switch. Just curious as to how you and your doctor decide which surgery is best for you. TIA 🩷

im 6 yrs out in a few weeks, and these days i can eat about 1-1.5 cups in volume in one sitting...more if its salad, less if its's dense protein or fluffy bread or pasta. but i mean, i could eat another 1-1.5 cups after i digest in a couple hours... further, i don't normally eat low-calorie on purpose...i try to average to 2300 cals a day more or less to maintain my current physique. you will find that you will be able to eat a little bit more as well as more frequently as time goes by. hopefully you will learn what amounts you need to maintain based on your activity level/health state and adjust accordingly as your needs change. ❤️

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.

Hello everyone. I hope you all are having a more exciting kickoff to your holiday weekend than I am. (Hubby had to work half the night so I’m just here watching TV. I had two things I wanted to post but now I’m only remembering one for some reason. The first was my annoying stitch. Yes. I have this one stitch at the end of an incision that is sticking straight up and every-time my arm brushes across it the incision feels like it’s being pulled. Been driving me nuts for three days since the steri strip came off. Well I finally came up with a solution. Two shirts. It doesn’t poke through the second shirt so when brush past it doesn’t snag it. Not sure how common it is but just in case there it is. Ooh my second thing. Motivation for exercise. My good friend that lives in another city came up with a great idea to motivate us both to exercise. We are going to do it together. But instead of driving an hour each was everyday we are just going to walk at the same time and talk on the phone while we do it. We are starting tomorrow night. Just thought I would share in case that idea works for someone else. i hope everyone has a good night.

First: All because you can doesn’t mean you should. It takes around 8 weeks to fully heal. That includes all nerves that were severed or damaged to be back firing again & sending accurate messages to your brain around, hunger, satiety, damage and your restriction. It’s why sticking to the portion size recommendations you should have been given is so important during the healing stage. (If you didn’t get them ask your team for some guidance.) You don’t want to damage your healing tummy either (all those sutures and staples holding your tummy together). Secondly: Do you need the next bite or just want it? There is a big difference between needing to eat and wanting to eat. Stopping to think about each bite you take is part of mindful eating and reflecting on your eating vs. mindlessly shovelling food into your mouth. If you just want the next bite (to make you feel better, out of habit, or other head hunger related desires) put your cutlery down & sit back from the table. Sometimes you may take another bite after a few minutes, other times you don’t have any more. The goal is not to eat until you are full but until you are satisfied and have had enough for your needs (for your body to function effectively). It takes at least 20 minutes for the message you’re are full to get through. If you are eating quickly when the message gets through, you’ve eaten more than you need and are over full. The goal also shouldn’t be to eat until you feel the restriction. If you feel your restriction you’ve eaten too much, or too fast or food that is too dense. The restriction fades in time so you can’t rely on it as a long term maintain e tool. The two axioms have been very important to me and helped me stick to the plan I was given in the losing stage and then to maintain in the years after. I’ve often shared them & I hope you may find them helpful too.

14 Days to go until my surgery. Starting weight 122.5kg I've lost 10kg (22lbs) since I started the pre-op diet. The doctor wanted me to get down to 111kg so with 14 days to go, I think it will definitely be possible. 10 weeks ago, even losing a pound seemed impossible! I know the hard part is still to come with actually keeping it off, but I'm still proud of how far I've come! I haven't weighed this little since 2017! I don't know if anyone has started a group for October 2024 Surgery buddies, but if anyone is also having surgery that month we can be buddies! I'm looking forward to the surgery, but I'm also going back and forth between having doubts and anxiety about it to looking forward to it!

On Sunday morning, I was 118kg. Monday I was 118.8 and now I'm 119kg again! I'm still sticking with the diet! I don't understand it! My scale is a smart scale with body composition and says I'm losing muscle, but not fat! I'm getting more than enough protein? I've heard of stalls, but you shouldn't gain during a stall, right?

@Onemealplan, that's a great question. I work from home, and my job is entirely sedentary, so I doubt that I will need three to four whole weeks off. But how do I know? I haven't done this before! My husband is having surgery on the 21st of August, so another big question is whether I'll be ready to be there for him after that. My surgery is on a Monday, and my plan is to take the first two weeks off (which will include my husband's surgery nine days after mine). Then I'll try to go back to work, but I may start with half-days if I need to. What are other people doing?

I had my gastric sleeve last week on Tuesday. I was able to start back working on Friday. I was just a little bit sore but wearing the ab binder really helps especially if you’re dealing with children and you have to be down a little bit because without it on it hurts a lot have been down already back up to walking without any problems I do about 9000 steps a day. I don’t have any small children. I have teenagers but they’re just as bad as toddlers. I have to do stuff around the house. They help out a lot but at least for me. It was only a couple days after surgery that I feel like I was able to do enough, so take your time to listen to your own body we’re all gonna be different. My results are not usual and even my doctor thinks it’s crazy that I’m able to do the things I’m able to do.

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 am just back from a week in D.C. and I walked soooooo much every day without any exhaustion or pain so that is a huge win for me, no way I could have done that in recent years pre-op. I tried to stock up on clothes while in the US but found it very frustrating as could find very little I liked that fit me and the things I did like were not available in my size. I actually fit in to a size 0 pair of Karl Lagerfeld trousers but they were a bit big on the waist so I decided they weren't worth the price to then have to pay to be altered, but the sizing across the brands I tried was so inconsistent it was exhausting, I think I spent almost 3 hours in a Macys trying things on and just came away with a bra and cardigan!

Maybe you don’t burn more just sitting there or if your heart rate was the same inside and out but I’m just saying that mine is higher doing what seems to be the same exercise (walking at 2.5mph on flat ground) outside vs inside so that burns more calories. Not sure why but supposedly the Apple Watch heart rate thing is like 99% accurate for lower intensity exercise and I have Ike two weeks of data that show it’s higher when I’m outside. I guess it’s possible I’m missing something but it sure seems like it is the case for me 🤷🏼‍♀️

We got this ⭐ We just needed the time so far to adjust to what has been happening and accept our new reality, at least that is what I am telling myself. The gym I am joining next month doesn't open until 7am which is too late for me, I get the bus to work at 6am but it means I can get there for 4pm and get my 30/40 minutes in before the work time rush from 5pm, at least that is my plan. I figure I will be getting my steps in from this weekend as going to 4 day conference thing running (well walking briskly) between meetings and then in two weeks will be going to D.C. for a week. I got steroid injections in each knee today so I am ready to get walking and hopefully shift my last 2kg.

I love to hear everyone's Wins as each week or day passes there is a New Win.

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.

Made refrigerator pickles, dried strawberries, dehydrated bbq zucchini chips, split pea soup, and pikliz (a Haitian pickled slaw) this week. But since I didn’t have lime juice or habanero peppers I used lemon juice and sriracha instead. It’s pretty tasty and I can’t wait to have more with fish stew on Friday. (I’m currently reading a book by a Haitian author and the way she mentions fish stew made my mouth water!) Only ate half the dinner roll but all the soup and half the pikliz.

I've been told by my doctor that I'm behind the weight I should be losing. I should be done to 116kg (255 lbs) by now. I really was starting to worry as the weight on the scale kept going up, but then I suddenly went down to 117kg. I had to stand on the scale twice because I couldn't believe the number. It was so easy the first couple of weeks of the pre-op diet and now it doesn't seem to be working as quickly. I'm still doing what I need to, but it's not been easy. I've also been told by my doctor that after surgery, I won't be able to ride my bike for 6 weeks! This is more difficult than not being able to eat solid foods for weeks. My beautiful noble steed (her name is Angelique Iolanthe) will have to be in storage for 6 weeks. 7 more weeks until the surgery. I've been reading more articles and doing more research on the sleeve. I'm not sure if that easing the anxiety or adding to it. Thanks to everyone for sharing your stories! It's one thing to do research and read medial information, but it's so much more reassuring to hear from people who have actually lived it. Even hearing the not so glamourous parts of life post-op.

Adding to the things that may not be accurate: BMI. BMI is an average that was reduced to a simple algorithm: BMI = weight (kg) / [height (m)]^2. In words: weight * (height * height). This calculation is intended to be a rough estimate to start with not the end all be all it has become. Such a calculation is closer to "correct" at the middle or average height and weight. Tall people skew to a lower BMI, short people skew to a higher BMI. The taller / shorter we are the more the BMI skews lower / higher. Body type also can skew higher or lower BMI. Not all of our bodies are built the same yet the BMI assumes they are. The more muscle we have the more the BMI doesn't work right. Body builders show the extreme of this effect. Arnold at his younger best would weigh in at a very high BMI. But us humans can build enough muscle to screw with our BMI. BMI is a rough starting place. Once you have the number, it doesn't really matter. How we feel, our health both physical and mental, how our eating and exercise are feeling. These are the real measures. Whew, done with BMI. But the post goes on. Then another part of this whole thing is Goal Weight. Simply, It may be wrong. If we're aiming for a certain BMI or BMI range the BMI discussion above should cause us to think. If it's a weight we were when we were young(er), our body has changed since then. If it's a weight our surgeon or medical team created it is another number intended as an idea that has been turned into a goal to measure us by. If it's based on those on-line calculators they give the average progress and result of someone with our demographics: We as individuals are not average. Goals are not written in stone. As a target to aim for when you start the process, it's fine. As you progress things change. Our bodies may tell us the original goal is unrealistic. If our body is happy and healthy at a different weight perhaps we should listen. The thing with goals, we are over the moon when we lose 10, 20, 50 pounds more than goal. Look how unconcerned we are about missing our goals by 10, 20, or 50 pounds. Why is missing goal by 10, 20, 50 pounds the other way so devestating? We misjudged our goals both ways. Ultimately, it's where our bodies that decided where to stop. If we have goals, we should continually evaluate them and change them as necessary. We have more information about our process now than we did when we started. More now than last week. Be honest. Be realistic. Good luck, Tek

Wow! Looking great! No amount of booty workouts would make my saggy past its prime fallen off the tree and sitting in the field for two weeks booty pop tho! Too much skin is too much skin 😕 my peaches have been ran over and are now roadkill pancakes!

Yep, still waiting for my surgery date @Spinoza The dietitian had warned me that I could end up doing the liver reduction diet over Christmas and I was wondering if anyone else had managed the same 🙂 When I had my appointment with the surgeon, we both agreed on having a bypass so now I wait for the date for the op! Definitely glad I’m over Covid though 🥳 @FifiLux isn’t it odd how the there are so many different approaches to WLS? Some have no pre-surgery diet, some have a couple of days, mines 3 weeks plus there are longer ones etc. It’s hardly surprising that some people end up totally confused with what they are supposed to be doing! Oh, how was your break? Did you take your travel scales? Did they help if so?!

Hello! Thank you for posting here as well! I'm scheduled to have my 'virgin SADI/sleeve' on Monday morning and I was SO happy to read your post so I could get a realistic idea of what my life will be like post-surgery. I hadn't gotten much feedback yet on what to expect after a couple of years and had only read that the malabsorption would diminish after 18 months. Your experience seems to match up with that pretty closely. I've got the same three week diet guidelines to follow post-op; do you remember any particular foods that gave you trouble as you were adjusting to life post-op initially? Or do you have any suggestions on what to start with in the soft food week? For the liquid diet I've almost entirely relied on shakes and a few helpings of sugar free jello. Today I got some zero sugar yogurt and added that, and had a sugar free popsicle. I know that I'll have to be eating / drinking room temperature for at least the first week if I remember right.

Sorry you have Covid but so glad to hear you had a good trip. I bet your cats missed you too. Wow 25,000 for multiple days good for you. I have been doing like 10-15k average just around the house and neighborhood and the one day I did almost 20 and boy oh boy my dogs were barking as my Dad used to say. I am so looking forward to being a little further out and being able to truly do whatever I want in terms of activity. Told my husband I’d like to do a trip when I reach my goal weight and if he been asking people for suggestions. I don’t want anywhere hot. Someone suggested Iceland. I’ve gotta research that. After my sleeve, alcohol was the exact same for me. I used to drink the flavored rums with my Coke Zero so I tried it post surgery with crystal light and margaritaville mixes and it tasted okay-ish but I was expecting this super fast buzz that everyone talked about and it did the opposite. Tried it a few more times over the years and even two or three in a night and I still felt nothing. I decided it’s a waste of calories and money for me and I haven’t drank since. I mean I never did it to get trashed but the point usually was a little bit of a buzz at a party or occasion. Your poor boyfriend who gained a few. Tell him he was taking it for the team, lol Seems like men usually can drop a small amount of weight pretty quick if they really want to 🤞. For future you may want to remind yourself that when you’re in a situation like that it is okay to waste a bit of food. I know it’s hard wired into some of us that we shouldn’t and I have been freezing things and having leftover nights at home to try and avoid it but it is okay if you don’t even have a refrigerator to put it in. It’s better than you or someone else having to overindulge. Now if he was secretly was looking forward to your leftovers that’s a different story. 😉 I hope you feel better really soon!!

Thank you so much for this perspective! You're absolutely right—losing almost 4 pounds a week is something I’ve never been able to achieve on any diet before, so I should really appreciate that. It’s so easy to get caught up in the numbers, but you’ve reminded me that the mental work is just as important as the physical. I need to let go of the comparisons and focus on my own journey. I'm definitely guilty of stepping on the scale too often, so I’ll try to step back from that. Also, hearing that the gym has made you feel so good is really encouraging! I’m excited to start building a routine and hopefully experience that same boost in energy and mood. Thanks again for the advice and for helping me keep things in perspective. I really appreciate it!