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Im glad your surgery went well!! We were so close in date 🙏🏼 Im still on a liquid diet until the 21st😭 I had 4 days clear am liquid and then 10 days regular liquid where I could add creamy soups, my protein shakes and vitamins. Im looking forward to the purée stage because im so sick of liquids!! I just want some mashed potatoes or anything with more flavor 😭😭 Im glad yours is going well, does your throat hurt while burping because it feels like the thicker consistency is coming back up?

I see, fingers crossed it’ll go away soon 🤞🏼 Im drinking Premier Protein right now and I really like their Root Beer Float flavor (though it sounds nasty). Im just struggling a little since I am slightly intolerant to milk after surgery. Ive been trying to find the Premier water everywhere but I cant find it in-store or on their website ): Where did you get yours? I need to buy more fairlife so I can make my own shakes. Im trying to finish my pre-made Premiers to get rid of them

More than the discharge it’s a stronger odor which I find disturbing - no incision surgeon said maybe nurse abraded the belly button while cleaning it before the procedure - ER says it’s looks normal but gave me anti fungal ointment - hope it resolves i I couldn’t stand the premier protein but no identifier lactose intolerance - just didn’t like the taste too sweet and heavy seeq protein water has been a lifesaver so I do two 14 oz servings of that and one 8 oz of fair life with whey protein and the rest water

Got the cheesecake flavor and made it with fair life and it’s so thick and sweet I can’t have more than a teaspoon sofar only savory option is Panera broccoli cheddar soup from which I pick out the veggies and have 4 oz

I wish I had a suggestion.. Unfortunately you've eliminated my suggestions for jello/pudding protein additions that would qualify for the liquid diet portion of bariatric programs.... I just added both to different soups etc. Good luck!

My surgery is scheduled for the 27th. I am on day 3 of my liquid diet and boy am I struggling. It's very hard to break old habits of just snacking but even now on the liquid diet I want a healthy snack but unable to have it. I think it's the chewing sensation I miss. I am able to have one health meal a day and usually have protein shakes for the other meals. (breakfast and lunch) I try to save my healthy meal for dinner so I can eat with my family but with being on summer vacation it has been hard to not want to just snack all day. I have been going back and forth if this is something I should followed through with as I will not be able to enjoy the things I used to after surgery. Maybe I'm over thinking and it's just nerves for the post op life.

Any idea to make liquid diet. More palatable ? How can one amp proteins in sugar free jello pudding for example other than using fairlife and adding whey

I've been stalled for 3 weeks. I contacted the dietician and had her look over my food logs on the baritastic app. She told me stalls can last a month, sometimes more. She went on to tell me I wasn't getting enough fiber. So, I bought some Flaxseed and going eat more fiber foods to see if that was the thing keeping me stalled. How many grams of protein and carbs are you getting per day? I'm curious, every doctor or nutritionist seems to have a variety of how they do things. I believe you had the sleeve which would be a different nutritional guideline than mine since I've had gastric bypass. It's frustrating to work on doing the right thing, only for a lingering stall. It has been getting really hot in Oklahoma. Mid to high 90's. I have a hot job as it is. Sweating all the time, I thought just by the heat and sweating I would lose a few pounds. It truly is a marathon

As far as getting ready: I've got a binder my doctor gave to me. It has basically all the information that I should need going forward. I do look at it periodically to refresh my memory about what is expected of me. For the dietary changes and stages, I write everything I need to stop/start on a calendar. For example: I need to stop drinking coffee and need to taper off to avoid headaches. I am also weaning myself off carbonated water and need reminders. I'm struggling with a few things such as taking small bites, so I like to put reminders in my calendar so i have to see them every day. I'm also changing my vitamins over to different brands and also needed reminders for that as well. (I'm forgetful!) I've made a list of the things I need to buy such as different kinds of protein powder, unjury protein, chewable vitamins, calcium chews, small utensils, small plates, a drink blender, etc. I've made a list of things to pack for the hospital (thanks to several threads here on this website, I have a list going). As I purchase them, I mark them off. Along those lines, I have fairly good ideas of the types of things I will be eating in each dietary stage so that I can plan ahead for grocery shopping when I get to that point. I purchased several books off amazon that were used, and very inexpensive. Things like bariatric cookbooks and bariatric mindset success books. I do try to read a little bit each day and then journal about what I read. I drive a lot for work so I have plenty of time to listen to podcasts. There are several that I enjoy that I feel are science-based, supportive and informative. I've learned many things from these podcasts about bariatrics. They're free and it's easy to just put one on a few times a week. Besides bariatricpal, I am trying to avoid other websites that deal with bariatrics at this point. It felt overwhelming and felt like I kept going down a rabbit hole of horror stories and it was not helping with my anxiety. There is one person on youtube that I enjoy watching because she's many years out and is very inspiring. Now that I have a date for surgery, this all feels very real and scary. I am trying to not give into the fear too much and remember why I am here at this decision. I need to take charge of my health. I have ONE precious life. I want to live the rest of my life in the best health that I can. I've tried desperately since I was about 20 (in my late 40's now) to lose the weight and keep it off. I've had high blood pressure for 15 years and no matter what I do, It continues to be an issue for me. I've been warned that I am pre-diabetic and likely someday soon that will catch up to me and I'll officially be diabetic. I cannot do this on my own and maintain it. It's that simple. This is my second chance and I will not turn back. This is honestly a story about saving my own life by asking for help. I hope this helps.

For me, I live on 1100 - 1200 calories on non work out days and 1300-1400 on workout days. On my weight training day, I tend to go up to 1500 calories. I work out 5 days per week. I also have 2 rest days. My protein, fluid intake, carbs, healthy fats, and calories are all higher on workout days, but I still can't get anywhere NEAR 2100 per day. 1500 is really pushing it, but I only do heavy weight training once per week, so it's ok. For quite a while, my calories on non workout days were 800-900 or so and workout days were 1100-1300, depending on what workouts I was doing that day. As time has gone on, my calorie and food intake has increased, but I still stick to the rule that I eat until I'm not hungry anymore, not until I'm stuffed. It's normal for our stomachs to hold a little more and our calories to increase as time goes by. What's important is to be selective with where those calories and carbs come from, not to overeat, and to be mindful of moving your body and getting in enough fluids.

I think in the last 2 years I talked to my nutritionist 3 times. And that was because I had to. It was included with the surgeries and she worked in my surgeon's office. She's nice and helped me come up with some cool recipes, but that's really it. I stayed mostly within the surgeon's dietary recommendations, but as time went on, I learned what my body likes and dislikes. For example, I'm extremely sensitive to carbs but not at all to sugar. I still stay away from sugar for the most part, but I'm not afraid of it like I was. I won't turn something away if it has sugar, but I typically go sugar free as much as I can. As for carbs, I use to do keto, so I was ok with low carb meals (I would have maybe 60-80 carbs per day). Now, though, I can't have more than 25 without feeling sick. On heavy workout days, I tend to go higher (45-50) but I pay for it because, again, I'm SUPER sensitive to them now. I respond well to high protein, moderate healthy fats, and high fiber foods. I'd say just do what you're doing, ignore the nutritionist, and keep kicking ass and taking names. You're doing AWESOME, so don't worry about the rest of it.

Thank you! I'll try to reply to everything. It took me some time, but for me personally the main reason I went with the sleeve is because I want to build muscle on top of the weight loss over time, and nutritionally it is easier to get the amount of nutrients needed to bulk up with a sleeve. However, that was not an easy decision and I did speak with two doctors first to educate myself. Both recommended that I went with a Deudonal Switch because of my diabetes as it would help that faster, however that is an option I have in the future if need be. Of course I'm not a doctor, so I would say this depends a lot on your personal factors and what would help you best. My sister had a DS done and she dropped over 200 pounds of fat, she's a different person now. My sister is also very short and I'm 6 feet tall so we carry the weight very differently. Either way, as long as you get it done I think you will be alright. No disrespect to the forums, but I understand the hesitancy from looking around here. However, I would say to look at this as more of a support group and a place for help from others that have gone through it. Everyone is completely different as far as what happens. I have been fortunate to have little to no side effects at all, others are not as lucky. I can say that before and after surgery it's up to you to control how well you achieve your goals. It's hard but absolutely worth it. You got down this far on your own, you should be proud of yourself. I'm proud of you. Don't look at surgery as a miracle cure for weight loss. Look at it as a tool that will aid you to achieve your goals much faster. After all, once you have the surgery it's on you to follow the meal plans, supplements/medication, and exercise in order to truly achieve your goals. And knowing your journey so far, I think that whatever you have done will help you immensely. Thank you again for sharing your story. Feel free to reach out if you ever need to.

Keep in mind that most nutritionists, it's their job to tell you to stay within certain limits that were decided by prior care teams who-knows how many years ago, based on individuals who could be much different than you. Those limits may be absolute BS, but they have to cover their own ass and give you these 'healthy guidelines'. In my care team, I have three different nutritionists I've seen so far. One of them seems very open, very with it, and all her advice so far has been really helpful. The other two have been absolutely useless. (Ironically, one is constantly looking at my food logs and saying things like "and where do you see that you could have added more protein here" even though I'm usually already in the 80-100g range -- and I DO NOT work out) For what it's worth, I think you're doing exceedingly well. Every time I see you post around here, I pay attention because you really seem to be in tune with your own body. If you're not having any protein over-consumption symptoms and your labs are good, I would take what's useful from the NUT and throw the rest away. (Are they sending you for bloodwork routinely, or has that fallen through the cracks too?)

That's wonderful!! You did it!! How is it going? Still keeping up with the vitamins and hydration? How frequently would you say you use the protein shakes as opposed to eating mechanical soft foods, etc? I'm trying to figure out how many I ought to plan on needing for the weeks up to and after my surgery at the beginning of August.

Hello and welcome! Also -- congratulations!! How exciting it must be to be at that stage of seeing the weight peel off, and past the point of initial recovery, and past the point of choosing which surgery to get. I noticed that you chose to go with the sleeve as opposed to the Roux-y surgery. I think that's where I'm likely to begin, myself. I have bounced around, investigating what they call a SADI-s / Loop / SIPS surgery which has an extra component with the intestine beneath the sleeve, often done as a revision of the sleeve for those who regain weight or aren't satisfied with their results. It SEEMS to have fewer side effects than the Roux-y (full gastric) but I just don't know. I've also been given a fair amount of advice suggesting I try to find an expert to do the duodenal switch (DS) due to my BMI being in the high 50s/low 60s. I'm certainly willing to try to go that route but as someone else said -- there is usually a LOT of back and forth before committing to surgery and I'm almost 7 months into the program I'm at with my current surgeon. How long would it take me, realistically, to get this far again? WLS is such a difficult and scary commitment, and then getting on here BEFORE having a surgery has filled my brain with so many more complicated options. Its kind of hard for me to commit to big decisions and sometimes I wonder if learning more and more is making matters harder for me. I love to feel in control of what's happening with my body and try to inspect EVERY detail such as to avoid any regrets -- but sometimes staring at the water for too long makes one less likely to jump in, doesn't it? But you've DONE it! I think the sleeve is a great option and respect your choice, and am so happy that it has gone smoothly thus far. It could just be my perception, but most of the men I've seen post about their surgeries seem to indeed have a bit more gentle recovery, with fewer complications. I've seen a lot of folks caution me (this forum and others) about whether I'd be satisfied with the degree of weight loss if I were to go with a base sleeve, Roux-y, or SADI-s. This makes me really appreciate where you talked about that dark spiral and maxing out at 407. I say this as someone who feels like I understand pretty dang well what you're talking about because my max weight was 435! Being 'down' to 366 feels a heck of a lot better by comparison, and I got this far by myself, so maybe I don't need to be as concerned about satisfaction with the numbers as I do making sure I'm comfortable with the process of surgery to help me continue my weight loss journey. Please keep us in the loop as you continue on to your goal! Also - congratulations to the rest of you posting here who are inches from your goal weight or have already made it there!! No matter what surgery (or surgeries) helped you get there, you DID IT! Definitely an inspirational group of people here!

Well done for getting the surgery you so badly needed. Its amazing isn't it. A little word of caution though, You will be eating tiny amounts and this will not sustain hard core exercise. You might get dizzy and nauseous, always carry a drink or a protein shake and a snack. I still do this and still need them now and again

I have to be honest about my experience so far with dietitians, and with post-bariatric advice and counseling in general. If you ask 100 dietitians what we are supposed to be doing, you will get 101 different responses. And if you ask them a second time, you will probably get even more. Too much protein, not enough protein, carbs are the devil, carbs are fine, low fat, don't worry about fat, count calories, only count macros, work out more, don't exercise too much... You've lost over 100 pounds. You are 12.8 pounds from your goal at only 5 months post-op, work out 6 days a week, and look and feel great. You seem really happy. I fail to see why you should change anything if you are happy with your results, unless you think the advice will benefit you. You know your body and what works for you, and unless your dietitian is a bariatric patient, she's never been through what you are doing first hand. Take what she says with a grain of salt, except salt is bad, unless it isn't because electrolytes are good...who knows?

30 days post op! I still have two incisions that we are fighting to heal. Down 15 lbs from surgery day! Today i had my first experience with dumping syndrome. I was visiting my mom and did not have one of my shakes for lunch, so she gave me an Equate nutritional shake with protein. 60 minutes later I was miserable. I know i don’t wish to repeat that!! It was literally the only outlier. Had my normal shake for breakfast. Now I’m just drinking water because i want to be sure its over.

Had an appt with my Dietician and I am so irritated, like so bothered! I told her that I weight train 6x a week on top of cardio 6x a week. Went over how much I ate and what type of foods and she told me I am eating too much protein, and I need to stop drinking my proffee in the morning only have decaf coffee. She said I need to eat under 100g of protein even though I am weight training. I could not respond, I am not trying to be thin my goal is to get fit and shapely which is why I weight train. My multivitamins I have to adjust which I knew I needed to. I feel so discouraged by what she said, she told me that the 1000 cal is "ok". I asked what that meant, she said I am on the higher scale of what I should eat at 5months post op, I told her but I workout for an hour plus a day? If I ate less I would pass out from exhaustion. My post surgeon team completely left me to figure this all out on my own. I was supposed to have a 6 week and 3 month group appt which she asked why I didn't attend....I told her because your team never called me to set them up and I didn't know that was even a thing. So I have been on my own since week 2. I thought I was kicking ass and taking names, now I am so bummed. Just venting

I swear I’ve spoken about, read about, thought about or written about constipation more in the last 5 years since surgery than the 44 years of my life before surgery. Lol! In the beginning, it’s not unusual not to poop every day or your poop to be smaller. You’re not eating much and what you are eating/drinking is nutrient dense so not much to poop out. Add to it the protein shakes, iron tablets & opiod pain meds it’s a constipation nightmare. I tried to stay on top of it too. Benefibre in my shakes then my yoghurt/yoghurt drink. If I didn’t go on the third day I’d take a stool softener which usually got things moving again. I’d then take two tablets if there was still no action on the fourth day. Five years out, and things can still be erratic. Every day then nothing for two or three days. No rhyme nor reason I can work out just my life now. Now this may seem strange but try jumping up & down or sitting on the edge of a table & pumping your legs (maybe better his soon after surgery). Was told this by a woman whose granddaughter had cystic fibrosis (I think) & this is how they were advised to help her constipation. It does help. I’ll do 20 jumps 4 - 6 times across the afternoon & evening & usually the next morning success. Avoids popping pils every time. Good luck.

it won't affect your stitches. It's in your large intestine - no stitches in that area. It's very common for it to take a week +/- for the first bowel movement - there's not much in there to come out. although that first one can be a doozy. Daily Miralax or stool softeners can help. just so you know, for some of us, constipation becomes a chronic problem. I think it has more to do with the high protein diet and some of the supplements (iron and calcium are the worst culprits) more than anything else. I have a capful of Miralax every morning to keep on top of it. Others use magnesium tablets, stool softeners, SmoothMove tea - whatever works!

It was a mix of everything for me - holiday last year where I could barely move due to ridiculous pains in my knees that wouldn’t stop. I thought it was a Rheumatoid Arthritis flare initially but nope, just Osteoarthritis because I’m fat. I was so miserable. The holiday was ruined and hubby was really worried. Had physio and steroid injections when we got back home but nothing worked. I was 55 but felt 85. It felt like I had nothing to look forward to, life seemed very small as I didn’t leave the house. Pain is constant, nothing touches it, sleep is continually disturbed and I just felt unhappy generally. I wasn’t depressed but it was a very fine line I was walking, and I knew it wouldn’t take much to tip me over into depression. I’ve always been able to see the positives in pretty much any situation but I couldn’t this time. Hubby has his own mobility problems due to nerve damage in his lower back from an op that went wrong, and all that kept going through my head was how were we going to manage with everything? I was the one who had kept everything ticking over but I couldn’t do it anymore. I hated my body, never let hubby see me naked, couldn’t play with my granddaughter, clothes were chosen just because they fit not because I actually liked them etc etc. I spoke to a female GP about HRT as I had just started it but had to change how I took it because of my weight. I was having a major panic because HRT was the only thing stopping me from acting like a crazed homicidal manic! My GP was fantastic, I actually felt listened to for the first time. It was then that I asked about what I could so about my weight as I’d had enough and nothing was working. Every time I dieted, I put it all back plus more. I’d had Orlistat that didn’t work and had looked at the jabs but couldn’t afford £250 a month. My GP didn’t hesitate and talked me through my options, saying she would support me. She referred me that week and, after a bit of hoop-jumping, I’m now on the WLS pathway. I already feel better about things and I’m excited for the future 😊

Thank you for sharing your experience I don’t even know if I am constipated considering I have no urge or discomfort - it’s just I haven’t had a bowel movement for the past 3 days and am afraid of constipation affecting the stitches more than any symptoms If I hadn’t had the procedure I would assume this was bc I am having only protein water and fair life rather than any prob doing 4 oz water 2 oz milk of magnesia and 4 oz water today - the milk is horrid tasting 😕 let’s c

I like crispy tofu in the airfryer. Block of Tofu/Cornflour/Spices/Oil Spray/Salt/Pepper You need firm tofu. A couple of hours before you want to eat take the tofu out of the package and blot it dry, then stack a couple of sheets of kitchen paper above and below it (or clean tea towels) then put a plate with a weight on top of it for 5-10 minutes. In a big bowl add a a big tablespoon of cornflour and the spices/seasonings of your choice for example garlic powder/paprika/liquid smoke/dried lime rind Herbes de provence/ lemon zest and juice/ground bay Cumin/Tumeric/dried corriander Soy sauce/sesame oil/garlic/ginger MSG/orange juice and zest/maple syrup/clove powder/cinnamon/chilli/onion powder Mix your cornflour with your spices and seasonings until well mixed or if you have liquids in your seasonings until its a smoothish paste Wipe the tofu dry again and cut into cubes, tip the cubed tofu into the bowl with the cornflour and seasoning mix and shake the bowl vigorously until the tofu is covered in the seasoning mix. If some of the tofu breaks into crumbs this is not a problem. They will just be extra crispy crumbs! It's best to let the tofu marinade for at least 15 minutes to a few hours but I often skip this part because I don't have time. When you're ready to eat preheat your air fryer to 200°c/400°f. Open the airfryer drawer and spray with oil, tip the tofu in and give it a spray. Shake after about 7-8 minutes and then put back in for another 7-8 minutes of until crispy. Enjoy! You'll find a lot of youtube/internet recipes that are probably easy to follow then mine if you google "airfryer tofu". It's nice as a protein without feeling too "woodstock crunchy vegan"

ugh. the constipation blues. i didn't poop for 13 DAYS after surgery. omg. i developed an M.O. to battle constipation over the next several weeks: 1) every day, i would add 2 tsp Benefibre to my morning protein shakes. 2) if i didn't poop after 2-3 days, i would take a Miralax 3) if I didn't poop 2 days after that, i would take Milk of Magnesia. 4) if i didn't poop 2 days after that i would insert a glycerin suppository. 5) if i did'nt poop 6 hours after that, i would insert another one. LUCKILY, i didn't need to figure out what to do if the second suppository didn't work. omg. i did this for about a year. after a year i got more "regular" and didn't even need the daily Benefibre anymore. And when I say "regular" i mean i poop maybe every 2-3 days. which is a huge departure to pre-op when i used to poop MULTIPLE times in a single day (sorry TMI). i think so long you aren't super uncomfortable, you are good. but if you are starting to feel pain and/or discomfort, then you probably need to come up with a plan to combat it, whatever M.O. it may be.