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I couldn’t stand the taste or anything being puréed that wasn’t supposed to come that way. Purées meat just sounded so disgusting to me. I lived off of refried beans, mashed potatoes (some plans do not allow these) and the ricotta bake. The ricotta bake was my favorite actually. If you haven’t heard of it you can do a search for it. It’s basically lasagna without the noodles. Some of the recipes use egg which would add protein and bake in oven but I just did the ricotta, sauce and mozzarella in the microwave. I still make it from time to time adding in sautéed peppers and onions or zucchini and onions. I was still allowed anything from the previous stage so you should be still allowed to have shakes if you need them to meat your protein goal. If you are thinking you will just have what your family is having but puréed though I guess it coukdnt hurt to try it. I mean if Amazon.ca is like US Amazon it’s pretty easy to return stuff. Just open it carefully so you can get it back together for shipping and try it out. If you don’t love it, you should know pretty well after the first use. Just send it back and get your money back. i actually have a regular nutra bullet that I like for smoothies. Never tried it for puree but im pretty sure it would work and then you will have something you can use later for smoothies (if your team allows them-some say no to drinking any calories). Actually just googled and reviews say the magic bullet is better for purée but still good for smoothies, dressings and all that.

I had my bypass in May 22. Happily and I needed to,\ I have lost a decent amount of weight after the bypass. My diet has been much improved. I go for walks most days and attend a gym once a week. On the down side depression has been kicking my butt and I have recently been hospitalized because of it. I spent a month inside and tried a new medication but it didnt seem to do anything for me so My P'doc said to stop taking it. Ever since then appetite has skyrocketed and it is causing me so much distress which I try to fix by eating. Yes, the cycle continues. So far my weight has not altered much but that wont stay the same forever. My psychiatrist has suggest that I ask my GP to prescribe Ozempic. Yes, I am a diabetic but since the bypass have managed my bsls with exercise and diet. Has anybody added Ozempic to help with their wls journey? Were there any draw backs. WHat else have you tried to get help with food addiction.

You are not a failure, obesity is a complex disease. It often requires many tools to tame. There’s no shame in that. As a person who has had both VSG and RNY, I can tell you first hand that If you are relying on further restrictions to help you *may* not get that. Almost always the pylorus is bypassed so no there will sphincter holding food in your sleeve creating that classic VSG full sensation. However there are a lot of behind the scenes biological changes that *may* happen but you won’t know how you will respond until after surgery. The new class of obesity med may help immediately (if you can afford them). They are spectacular. In the time it will take you to go through referrals, appointments, testing and waiting for a date, you may lose the weight. They work that fast. Of course there are risks, some who cannot tolerate them or are very slow responders but the beauty is you can decide week by week if it’s worth it. If not, nothing permanent has been done. That’s the other issue. These are permanent use meds just like HRT or TRT. Maintenance doses are still being fiddled with by individuals so what permanent use looks like may not be weekly. Do a ton of research and ask your Bari/weight management team (if you still have one) what they think. Good Luck!

You say above that "granted, they are right." Respectfully, your friends and family are 100% wrong and don't have a clue what they're talking about. Obesity is not caused by a simple lack of willpower. If it were as simple as eating right and getting some exercise, none of us would be here right now. You didn't supply your height and weight details, but based on the list of ailments you've mentioned, I'm guessing you have a significant amount of weight to lose, like well over 100 pounds. It's very hard to lose more than a small percentage of your body weight and keep it off. About 95% of people who lose weight through calorie restriction and going to the gym regain the weight. Not because of a lack of willpower, but because there are complex systems in our bodies that work hard to keep us at a weight our bodies have decided is right for us. Unfortunately, in those of us with obesity, that desirable weight has been set much too high. Fighting against that is extremely difficult. That's not to say that surgery will fix your issues with food. It won't. You will still have to do all the work on your mental and physical health to lose the weight and keep it off. You will have to eat right. And exercise. And work on your food addiction by modifying your behavior, hopefully with the help of a professional therapist. You'll need to track your food intake for months if not for life, and there will probably be foods that you will never be able to eat again, either because they make you ill or because they trigger bad behaviors that you need to avoid. You'll have to learn a whole new way of cooking and eating. You'll have to be careful of transfer addictions. Sometimes you will feel left out when everyone else can eat things and you can't. You'll have to defend your choices to people who have no idea what they're talking about and no filter on their opinions. Surgery is frickin' difficult. But, it's effective. It changes your hormonal balance to make your body want to be at a healthier weight. If you follow the rules, you will lose weight and keep it off. Your physical health will improve. Your body will feel better. But you do have to follow the rules, and the rules are challenging. You have to be ready for it, and even when you think you're ready, it's common to make mistakes and to struggle sometimes. You'll need a support system and the confidence that you've made the right choice for the long term even when it sucks in the present moment. If you decide surgery is right for you, you will need to believe in yourself enough to look your family and friends in the eyes and invite them to either support your decision and help you, or else they can feel free to shove their negativity into the orifice of their choosing. This is your life, your body, and it's your right to decide what you need to live the best way you possibly can. No one else has to wake up with the pain you feel in your joints, hip, and back. No one else has to struggle through the day and have their options limited because of their size and health. No one else has a say in what you do to improve your situation. But I will tell you this. There are probably some people in your life who will not think this is true. They will not appreciate you stepping out of your role as the obedient one and standing up for yourself and not doing what they want you to do. They will feel threatened. They will not like it when you lose weight, and they will say mean and nasty things about how you cheated and took the easy way, because if you succeed at this, they will feel like it takes something away from them. They are the ones with the problem, not you. They may try to sabotage your efforts and make you feel bad about yourself. Again, they are the ones who are wrong. But that doesn't make it easier in the moment. So make sure you have people to talk to who support you. I wish you the best of luck. You're young and you deserve to have an awesome and long life full of good health and happiness. Don't let anyone else take away your chance at that. Finally, here is a video that I highly recommend to help with your decision:

5 mo post-op (bypass) here, and I still don't get any full -- nor hungry -- feelings. I can feel certain foods leave me with a sensation of heaviness about an hour after eating -- or if I'm eating something that's too dry or not the right texture for my stomach, I can usually feel that after a few bites around mid-chest level. My team has assured me numerous times that eventually my body will relearn itself, and start sending hunger and full signals again. (I think they're mainly trying to warn me not to rely on the lack of hunger, lol). Anyway, because of all that I find I have to be a little extra careful about portion sizes because my body is not going to tell me anything unless it's too late and I'm throwing up. At this stage, I'd suggest going with the minimal servings your plan suggests. You can always supplement by 'eating more' an hour or two later -- but you can't 'eat less' once it's past your lips.

hi all, I posted this in the pre op forum for June buddies, but thought I'd also post it here in case it helps anyone. Here's my experience so far after getting the Gastric Sleeve procedure on 13th June 2024... Immediately after surgery It was pretty rough for me, I woke up in a lot of pain, so much so that the nurses had to give me 30mg morphine for the pain. I was in a recovery room for the first 24 hours (standard procedure for the private hospital in the UK i went through) After the initial 24hrs I was moved back to my room where I felt a lot better. Even able to eat an ice pop and a small cup of Tomato Soup (sipping of course) and sipping Water every 5-10 mins. Week 1-2 I quickly moved onto the liquids phase, in which I must have taken in around 2-300 cals per day through Protein Shakes and watery Soups. I must admin this phase was the hardest for me, managing the pain meds as well as trying to drink as much liquids as I could in a day. It just so happened there was an international football (soccer) tournament on in Europe in my first 2 weeks' recovery so was engrossed in that! I also started walking 1 mile per day and upping that to almost 2 miles by the end of it. My weight loss was drastic in this phase but my word I was lethargic/got tired v easily and not up for doing much. Week 3-4 Puree stage - finally I felt I was able to get some proper food in me, and a few days after starting this phase, my weight slowed right down - the dreaded (but expected) 3 week plateau kicked in. I went around a week and a bit without any weight loss, despite me sticking to the recommended diet. I am not going to sugar coat this, it was a bit disappointing standing on those scales after a week, but I knew this would happen so meh I guess. Still walking 2 miles per day during this phase and now feeling I have a lot more energy. Week 5-6 Week 5 started with me starting to lose a pound every 2 days or so, so my body seems like it has adjusted to the inro of more foods for the 'soft foods' stage. I also started back at the gym doing some cardio work on top of my walks, and oh boy I have so much more energy for it! I am now around half way through week 6 and had my first appointment with my nutritionist and he is blown away by the progress I have made/am making. He gave me further chewing tips to make sure I am not overeating as I have been sick a couple of times when I've eaten too quickly and not realised I'm full/satisfied. He is now happy for me to start introducing more fibred meats and more complex foods, like a little Pasta and a little bit of rice, to test the waters. Struggles so far: Reminding myself I have a new stomach not eating what family members are eating e.g. Sunday dinner Eating too fast resulting in vomiting Extra attention from people who have noticed a loss in weight (47lbs and counting since pre-op liver diet). Since I've been overweight most of my adult life, I carried a lot of shame internally, so its in my nature not to talk about myself/get photos taken etc Wins so far Losing a lot of weight and all the benefits that go with it. Being more present with my family. Having the energy to do everything they want to do (I have a wife and 2 kids, girl 11, boy 7) Clothes! I have dropped from XXXL to XL already. Which was a surprise when I packed to go to a 5 day getaway with my fam in week 5 Mental health - the mental benefits come as such a relief. I no longer feel down about my weight (although I know I still have a ways to go) Confidence - generally just feel I can be more myself - hopefully some here will resonate with this. Would be great to hear of your experiences so far, especially if you had your procedure in April/May/June/July!

Hi everyone, how are y'all getting with your post op diets, exercise and wellbeing? Here's my experience so far after getting the Gastric Sleeve procedure on 13th June 2024... Immediately after surgery It was pretty rough for me, I woke up in a lot of pain, so much so that the nurses had to give me 30mg morphine for the pain. I was in a recovery room for the first 24 hours (standard procedure for the private hospital in the UK i went through) After the initial 24hrs I was moved back to my room where I felt a lot better. Even able to eat an ice pop and a small cup of tomato soup (sipping of course) and sipping water every 5-10 mins. Week 1-2 I quickly moved onto the liquids phase, in which I must have taken in around 2-300 cals per day through protein shakes and watery soups. I must admin this phase was the hardest for me, managing the pain meds as well as trying to drink as much liquids as I could in a day. It just so happened there was an international football (soccer) tournament on in Europe in my first 2 weeks' recovery so was engrossed in that! I also started walking 1 mile per day and upping that to almost 2 miles by the end of it. My weight loss was drastic in this phase but my word I was lethargic/got tired v easily and not up for doing much. Week 3-4 Puree stage - finally I felt I was able to get some proper food in me, and a few days after starting this phase, my weight slowed right down - the dreaded (but expected) 3 week plateau kicked in. I went around a week and a bit without any weight loss, despite me sticking to the recommended diet. I am not going to sugar coat this, it was a bit disappointing standing on those scales after a week, but I knew this would happen so meh I guess. Still walking 2 miles per day during this phase and now feeling I have a lot more energy. Week 5-6 Week 5 started with me starting to lose a pound every 2 days or so, so my body seems like it has adjusted to the inro of more foods for the 'soft foods' stage. I also started back at the gym doing some cardio work on top of my walks, and oh boy I have so much more energy for it! I am now around half way through week 6 and had my first appointment with my nutritionist and he is blown away by the progress I have made/am making. He gave me further chewing tips to make sure I am not overeating as I have been sick a couple of times when I've eaten too quickly and not realised I'm full/satisfied. He is now happy for me to start introducing more fibred meats and more complex foods, like a little pasta and a little bit of rice, to test the waters. Struggles so far: Reminding myself I have a new stomach not eating what family members are eating e.g. Sunday Dinner Eating too fast resulting in vomiting Extra attention from people who have noticed a loss in weight (47lbs and counting since pre-op liver diet). Since I've been overweight most of my adult life, I carried a lot of shame internally, so its in my nature not to talk about myself/get photos taken etc Wins so far Losing a lot of weight and all the benefits that go with it. Being more present with my family. Having the energy to do everything they want to do (I have a wife and 2 kids, girl 11, boy 7) Clothes! I have dropped from XXXL to XL already. Which was a surprise when I packed to go to a 5 day getaway with my fam in week 5 Mental health - the mental benefits come as such a relief. I no longer feel down about my weight (although I know I still have a ways to go) Confidence - generally just feel I can be more myself - hopefully some here will resonate with this. be great to hear of your journey so far, so let's have it folks, we're all in this together

It's pretty common. Happened to me after my sleeve and again after my revision to bypass. I was told it would likely be temporary, but so far, nothing has gone back to how it was before. Super weird. Things smell differently to me, too. And taste differently. Hate foods I use to love, actually like stuff I use to dislike. Very weird lol

I was a teaspoon dipper or baby bite person too. My bites were just want ever was on the end of the teaspoon I dipped into my food. Don’t be afraid to wait longer between bites: a couple of minutes. Even eating 1/4 cup of food would take me 20 minutes or more. I would avoid the crackers and focus only on eating protein at this stage and any incidental vegetables like what might be in a soup you’ve blended. Generally any carbs should be left to the last thing you eat & only if you are able. So eat your protein first, then if you are able any vegetables then finally carbs you’re allowed at each stage (usually whole or multi grains not the more highly processed, less nutrient dense breads, rice, pasta, crackers). So if you were able to eat the saltines, you would have been able to eat more of the chicken salad & therefore more protein. There were many times I ate protein & nothing else for some meals for months. Congrats on your weight loss so far.

I am 7 months post op and I eat because I know I need to lol, I will feel hunger in the morning before my profee but other than that, its more just sustaining my energy throughout the day. I am psychotic and actually pre-track my day the day before, I meal prep so I only eat what my plan says (plus a little more- I need it to sustain my workouts) and will have everything that my macros fits. I still get cravings though that has never gone away. I get the same feeling that @JennyBeez gets, feeling of getting stuck in the middle of my chest or right above my belly button, but it subsides after 30min or so. I don't eat the slowest since most of my meals are on the go. Its rare I get to sit down and enjoy my food- even dinner. Just follow your plan and make sure your eating where you have energy and the rest will follow.

Well for the shake since you are making it maybe you can just make Half and then take the ingredients with you to make the other half. Hopefully you won’t have to do it for too long. You should get to where you can drink more once the swelling goes down some more and eventually you ideally will be able to get all of your protein from food. in terms of what’s allowed at this stage though, I would try to stick to what your doctor has on their list. I think most people have scrambled eggs on either purée or soft foods. Is that on your list? Those could be made ahead and heated up if you have a microwave at work.

@Hiddenroses that GENEPRO is the one I was asking about. I have it and mixed it in pudding and I couldn’t taste it but I wasn’t sure how to mix into hot things. You say to mix with water first, huh? It’s a tiny scoop compared to most powdered protein so one scoop is not really as much as your thinking I bet. When we get to more normal portions we may be able to add more than one scoop even but I’m not sure about how much it would change the texture. Has everyone else discovered protein waters yet. They were obviously handy in the liquid stage and full liquids when you get sick of shakes but even now in purée they are good since we are not consuming enough food to get all of our protein. I try to have a drink after each meal and they are 20g protein so that combined witb the 5-10g I get in my 1/4 cup serving is pretty much 30 average per meal (my breakfast shake in my profeee is 30 by itself. My goal is 72-108g so around 90 is good I figured.

I had no pre-surgery diet plan to to follow but did have to 'check-in' to the hospital the night before so they actually cut off my food at 8pm that night and then I was only allowed water until midnight. They also had me take a small amount of a sugar free isotonic drink at about 6am on the day of my op (8am), don't know why.

Hi, everyone, I've just caught up on posts after being away from the site for a bit. I would love to comment on everyone's posts because we're all going through such similar things. I'm really proud of us for the changes we're making. @ShoppGirl, I think you are correct about the treadmill being narrow and having to balance on it. I was shocked to find that walking on a treadmill is very different from walking on the street, but it definitely is. I have a treadmill that I walk on during meetings at work (I work from home) and that's a lot easier for me than walking on the street. But I had to set it under a stand-up desk because trying to balance on the narrow thing would be a full-time job and I couldn't pay attention in my meetings. (Also I'd probably fall off of it a lot.) My first week back to work was exhausting. I was just fried at the end of each day, even though I work from home. My hubby had his prostate out on Friday. He was able to come home the same day, which we were not expecting but it was a very nice surprise. I'm plenty recovered enough from my surgery to do stuff for him, so we're doing well. But it's obvious to me that I'm still recovering, because I get tired much more easily than pre-op. I'm proud of myself because I planned and brought protein drinks to make sure I got nutrition throughout the day. All day, I had been aware of the hospital cafeteria, which is close to the surgical waiting room, but I knew that I was not going to go in because I had no reason to. Back in the day, I would have had the perfect excuse to go nuts in there while I waited for hubby's surgery to be done! Then, since I got to take my husband home, I ended up being at the hospital later than I expected, so I had to find something to eat and ended up having to go there. So I had my first experience of eating somewhere other than home. I was able to find appropriate protein in the right amount, and that's all I had. I had my first post op visit with the PA, who told me not to worry about the fact that I don't have fullness cues. She said by 3 months it may get harder to get things down, because scar tissue hasn't formed yet, and also by 3 months, I'll have developed a much better sense of what's going on in my body. Surprisingly, she said that if I'm doing pureed easily, I could move to soft. So that was a great surprise and I'm enjoying the soft stage. I can eat more of a variety of things. It's going fine, which still bothers me because I wish I had more sense of restriction. I worry that I'm going to return to old bad habits! So I'm being careful to measure, and I tell my Baritastic app everything I'm eating! The thing I'm currently struggling with is that eating only 1/2 cup at a time, I've been eating only one thing and focusing on protein. I'm finding myself craving things like fruit and vegetables. So I had a couple florets of broccoli tonight which was great. I read a sample diet for the soft stage that had entries like, "2 bites of _______". I am going to focus on eating more fresh things, now that I understand I can just have a bit less of whatever my protein is and "2 bites" of something fresh. I'm also struggling with getting all the vitamins in, since I have to separate the calcium from the iron from the multivitamins. There are only so many hours in the day! I know others have mentioned this, so at least we're all in the same boat, and we'll figure it out. I am losing maybe half a pound a day. I know that's a lot, and I had a couple of non-scale victories the other day. I had to go in to the office for a meeting, and I put on a dress that had been too tight to wear. It fit perfectly! And the sandals I wore zip up the back. They'd been hard to zip because of my fat ankles, but now they are even a little bit loose! On paper, I've lost 30 pounds from my heaviest, but it doesn't feel or look that way to me. I'm only 5 feet, so that much weight should be quite obvious, but it isn't. That bugs me some, but I know I'm just beginning and I WILL be able to see the difference when I lose more. I'm happy that I can move around and get some exercise. I thought I'd be just weak from taking in so few calories, but I'm not. Occasionally, I'll get a little lightheaded, but it's not bad at all. I was able to do my pre-op treadmill routine (3 30-minute walks daily at 2.0 MPH, which means 3 treadmill miles a day) although I did have one day when I got a little lightheaded and had to turn down the speed just a bit. Today was the first time that I actually felt "hungry" since surgery. But it was mixed in with a desire to eat out of boredom as well as some head hunger, so I'm not quite sure what the deal was, exactly. I am trying to just pay attention to that stuff and ask myself questions about how I'm feeling, without any intention of acting on it. I think I will do better if I start eating more of a "meal" type diet with mostly protein but a little of things like vegetables and fruits, so that I have some variety and am getting in some varied nutrients from food, not just my vitamins. And yes, I STILL have a little of the sticky stuff from the hospital on my skin! What is that about?

I had my gall bladder removed years ago after collapsing due to infected stones. I was told I wouldn't be able to eat rich foods afterwards but I didn't have any problems. I have to do B12 injections every 4 to 6 weeks. I used to get them at my doctors surgery but the GP said it was a waste of my money to be paying to go see her when I could do them at home myself. I used to be terrified of needles but like @MrsFitz says I actually find it easier to do it on myself now. I also do the thigh, alternate each time but I would consider it a long needle as it has to go through fat/muscle to get into the system. I often wonder what my cleaning lady must think when she is cleaning my cupboards, one is my drinks and medicine cabinet and when you open the door you see all the needles, alcohol wipes etc. nicely there besides the Baileys 😂

Hi everyone, I am 7 days post-op. Today, I was able to add 1 protein shake to my clear liquids. Taking it a little slower than normal to get my fluids where they need to be. My nurse advised me to go at the speed my body will allow. Tomorrow I will add the second protein shake and see how that goes. Maybe then I will be able to start adding some puréed foods. I was also advised to take my Levsin to prevent stomach spasms and Zofran for the nausea. Also taking Omeprazole. Holding off on the vitamins as they can cause nausea. As far as gas, it was mostly the first 3-4 days and now just infrequent burping. Because it is an inert gas, there is no smell. But the family found it hilarious. lol Getting up and down, and walking is getting easier. Believe me that is a great thing. The best tip from my nurse is that right now the full time job is getting in your fluids and walking.

I think when you go on vacation if you just tell them you had stomach surgery they will understand. Don’t have to get into what it was specifically. Just says special diet prescribed by doctor. Or even it’s delicious but I already ate. All they really care about is knowing that it’s not because you are dissatisfied with the food. I was a savory person before my sleeve too. I had kind of a unique change to where I craved sweets which was another of the things that contributed to my regain. It’s pretty uncommon according to my dr. Post SADI I don’t feel like I am craving sweet as much. Perhaps because I know I can’t have the sweets I really would want but hopefully because that reversed itself again. We shall see. I know that I have been craving fish tacos which is really weird for me. I barely even ate fish pre surgery or post sleeve. Just made myself like once a month because I know its good for me. I don’t think the caffeine restriction is really about how you will feel when you have it. It’s more about affecting your healing and I think I also heard something about it causing irritation or GERD.

When I started eating solid foods, I noticed I gain weight a few pounds in the first couple of months. This can happen as your body adjusts to a new diet. It's important to watch how your body responds and make changes to your eating and exercise habits if needed. Everyone is different, so it's important to find what works best for you.

Really starting to feel like I am in a groove getting in all of my fluids, protein and vitamins. It’s no longer a huge struggle I have to constantly think about. I take my calcium with my morning proffee that I drink first thing that gives me a really good start at 20oz fluid, 30g protein and one vitamin down. (Just take the vitamin with the last sip as opposed to the first if your vitamin has a lot of iron) and I mix in a spoon of soluable fiber so I get that over with as well. While I’m drinking it I get out my three calcium’s for the day, take my stool softener and take my daily rx meds. The rest of the day is pretty easy. I don’t get up at a set time so I just make sure to wait at least two hours to take my calcium’s and just fit in all three like an hour before I plan to go to bed at which time I take my second stool softener and the magnesium she added for muscle cramps. If i am going to be out for the day I will set alarms for the calcium’s and put them in my purse during my proffee. . A long time ago I created alarms for every half hour of the day so that it’s super simple to just toggle on whichever alarms I may need in the morning and when it goes off I just have to figure out what I’m forgetting 😆 You may have to turn off the ”everyday” function so when you turn it off it’s really off but doing that has helped me with everything I have to remember since I get distracted pretty easily. This would be way easier if you get up at a set time because you could turn on that everyday function and set the alarm once and it’s done from then on. At this point I’m only reminded of the pain a handful of times throughout the day. The only thing that is still not easy for me is the 30 minute rule. I know that I was supposed to do that forever after my sleeve but around the time I gave up hope on that I started back with drinking while eating and it’s a really hard habit to break. I do find that if I brush after meals and swish water around and spit it out it helps some. Next step is soft foods I am so looking forward to this stage and at the same time anxious I will overdo it too fast. I believe I mentioned before I am a rule follower and prefer more structure “soft food” is a bit vague for me. I survived it last time, though so I’m sure it will be okay I really hope everyone else is recovering well if early out and starting to get in their groove as well if they are a little further out. Any tips that you guys have worked out to remember it all?

You poor thing doing this without much guidance from your team. First of all, DO NOT let anyone give you advise who is not a medical professional or someone who had your surgery. Who knows what they are comparing it to. For one thing most people thing all the surgeries are a Bypass and they are all the same, and second who knows how far out this person was. On top of that, liquids pretty much go right through once the swelling goes down. One month post sleeve i Was practical bacK to drinking my normal one gallon of fluids which is twice what they recommend as a goal!! This time it’s really not a good comparison since they didn’t operate on my stomach but I am up to 3/4 cup of food per meal. My book says 1/2-3/4 cup. All I know is that I feel fantastic. I am losing at a steady pace and exercising too which I never did before. I know it’s hard not to compare but honestly we should take everyone’s advice with a grain of salt because your doctor is the only one who knows all about you and your circumstances as well as your surgery. Make sure that your nutritionist has worked with bariatric patients before or you will most likely be wasting your time though. Did you call and ask your team if they can get you in sooner?? Corrected to add actually I just realized you did not have a sleeve or bypass either. Honestly you need to get advise from someone who had your surgery. We can cheer you on and relate to many parts of all of this but I know I for one am not very familiar with your surgery at all.

I was one to think the purée phase was awful too. In fact when I had the sleeve I at the same two things over and over just because it sounded so repulsive to me. This time I got a food processor and was so glad. I still wasn’t a fan of the meat being puréed but I did purée almost everything else and after all the liquids some of it actually tasted pretty good. You can do it either way though. It will fly by. Ugh, teenagers can be so stupid sometimes. I remember doing some pretty disrespectful things as a teen that I am still ashamed of when I look back though. They just don’t get it yet. I’m glad that you didn’t let it stop you. I am one to worry about what others think which is why I am only starting to exercise outside now because I finally decided that this is for me and only me. If someone doesn’t want to see me trying to get healthier they can look away. Good call on the recipe books. Someone in my August surgery group also posted a really great website for recipes. I will share that one too. Most of it is free but they do have a subscription deal so some of it is blocked. I have been scrolling through since they shared it. There are over 600 recipes it says but like I said some of them are blocked unless you pay to be member. The lady is a dietician that creates the recipes so they really are good and healthy. Good Luck at your appt with the surgeon. 🩵 https://www.bariatricfoodcoach.com/weight-loss-surgery-recipes/

I feel like you're exactly right and your post was really well worded. I bet that's what the therapist meant as well - and boy oh boy are you on target with an 'adjustment period' being needed when you're used to turning to food for comfort! I had a couple of weepy episodes during this week quite unexpectedly when I didn't even feel hungry. Maybe it was the thought of an upcoming major surgery (I've never had major surgery) but I also think it was the sense of 'forced control' and the knowledge that I couldn't turn to chocolate or pizza to make me feel better, even if I wanted to. Maybe I was kind of 'mourning' the lost of that coping mechanism -- but I do think the fact that my taste buds are changing is going to be helpful, personally.

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.

I am. I literally just came from my one week post op. I had an unexpected gall bladder removal so a lot of my appt was my fears about that. Seems like the scary stuff is far less likely and the most likely will just be the issues with fatty food. She also cleaned my incision from the drain that came uncovered in the shower just because I’m over anxious about infection and when she seen how much pain I’m in when I laid down And sat up she said that I need to be on pain meds and I’m trying to be too tough. I just placed my Walmart order and added Tylenol. I’m gonna try they first. She also said with the SADI that it’s not uncommon to have issues with B12 but now that we add in the gall bladder thing she wants to start me on monthly injections. This should be interesting since i can’t even look when someone else gives me a shot. Guess like anything else I will get used to it.

Depression can definitely impact motivation, so your husband may be on to something? That said, there is a difference between clinical depression and situational depression. Clinical depression is generally a lot more serious and long lasting, whereas situational depression tends to be less severe and tends to get better over time once you are further out from the triggering event. I'm not a mental health professional, but it certainly seems more like situational depression to me if you're really stressed about the work/funding situation. I think if you are concerned, the best course of action would be to talk to a mental health professional. We all go through some rough stuff every now and again, so if you need help, please get it. With that out of the way, I do also want to give you my thoughts on general overall motivation to exercise when you are struggling with that. What people often fail to understand is that humans are literally designed to conserve calorie expenditure. This is a key survival instinct, or at least it was back when food was a lot more scarce than it is today. I mention this because sometimes people think there's something wrong with them when they are not motivated to workout. Actually just the opposite is true. That feeling to want to do just about anything else other than workout is instinctual. So what do we do about this? well, since calorie conservation is such a strong instinct, we need even stronger things to overcome that feeling. Below are some ways we can do that. These are roughly in order of importance (at least in my opinion): Probably the single most important thing is to really understand your why. By that I mean if you don't really know why you want to exercise, or if the reason is somewhat vague (such as just feeling like you're supposed to), that just may never be enough. Really explore what caused you to want to make this change. If the reason is sufficiently important (for me it was not wanting to die an early death), then it makes everything else a lot easier because you can always refer back to the why when you'd rather just do something else. Make it a habit. Let's be honest. There are certain things you do in life that are just habits and you don't really need motivation to do them. They may not even be things you enjoy, but you do them anyway. For me that's things like laundry or dishes. Showering or brushing my teeth might be more examples. I don't really need a lot of motivation to do them, I just do them because that's part of what I do day to day. What we want to do is get to the point that exercising is just another habit. This could be a pretty long post in and of itself, but one tip I have is something called "habit stacking". I blatantly stole this idea from a book by author James Clear called "Atomic Habits". (I Highly recommend reading it by the way.) The idea here is to attach the new habit you want, such as working out, to an existing one you already do like eating dinner. It might look like this: "After I eat dinner, I will go for a walk around the block" Set realistic goals and update them as you progress. Realistic is the key here because I often find that people either set too easy of a goal, or much more likely, too hard of a goal. If your goal is to workout 5 days a week for 30 minutes at a time when right now, you're basically doing nothing, that's simply too much at once. A much better goal would be something like "I'm going to go to the gym once this week". For some people, just getting out the door and to the gym is the hardest part, so if the goal is just getting there, it overcomes the biggest challenge. Most likely, once you're there, you'll at least do something (you won't just turn around and come home). The same can be true if you're goal is walking around the neighborhood. Often just getting out the door is the hardest part, so instead of saying I'm going to walk 30 minutes a day, simply make the goal getting out the door once this week. This one is a little harder, but you need to explore your feelings and determine what your intrinsic and extrinsic motivators are. Some people are motivated almost exclusively by one of the other, but my experience is that most people are motivated at least in part by both internal and external things. When you know what these things are, it makes motivation a lot easier. As an example, I really love the way working out makes me feel, which is a strong internal motivator. That said, I also really enjoy looking fit. (I'm vain, sue me). I use these two things to my advantage. Put it on your schedule. Way too many people say they are just too busy to workout, but most of the time, that's just an excuse. If it's important, then you'll put it on your calendar just like anything else that's important. "Pre-prep" for your workout. This can vary depending on what you do, but a lot of people that workout in the morning (or immediately after work), find that if they lay out their workout clothes, or pack their gym bags before they go to bet the night before, it takes away one of the biggest challenges they have to getting the workout started. This removes an excuse not to do the workout, and in addition, serves as a reminder to actually do the workout. These are the biggest ones that come to mind for me. There are other tricks and tips I could give (like finding an accountability partner), but this post is already pretty long. One final thing I wanted to mention. A lot of people have found (and research backs this up), that regular exercise can actually significantly lessen symptoms of depression. While I do still recommend talking to a professional, you may find that working out actually helps you feel better. Best of luck!