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Hello everyone, from what i have seen so far this is a great forum with awesome people offering great advice I had gastric by-pass at the end of April 2019 and have been through the Liquid, Pureed, and Soft food diets (Still on Softwood until i see my surgeon again), i have had an issue twice so far with food getting stuck, once was with steamed fish and another time with Risotto. I chewed my food really well but it still happened those two times and i find it really tender to swallow anything for a few days after it, I know the opening if narrow at the moment but is this because i am am healing or is this the way it is going to be for every?

Buying sexy under-roos. Go hiking for more then 10 minutes. (Colorado already sucks with the higher elevation) Walk around and feel like people are looking at me thinking "she is very pretty" rather then "wow she is pretty chubby" Not having people ask me when I'm due or how far along I am. Feeling healthy and actually being healthy. No longer ordering a large #1 from fast food. Going to my fiancé's school events and not feeling ashamed because he is the teacher with the fat wife. Taking pictures. Wearing a beautiful wedding gown to my wedding.

I am in the pre-op stage (October 10) and am wondering what kitchen equipment or tools people find most helpful in the general diet stage. Do you keep it simple (good ol pots and pans) or do you use an air fryer or instant pot, ect…?

I too, started between March and May on my journey. Friday 10/5/18 is my sleeve surgery date. I was required to do a 2 week liquid diet.. Hard but dedication. Am I nervous, as two virgins on their wedding night. But looking back at pictures and remembering feeling mortified looking at myself in a full body mirror and not able to enjoy life.. feeling my lowest point when weight started to nag at who I was and where I wanted to be... all the procrastination went out the window. Don’t give up. I was robbed of who I’m supposed to be and Friday I will collect justice.

I too, started between March and May on my journey. Friday 10/5/18 is my sleeve surgery date. I was required to do a 2 week liquid diet.. Hard but dedication. Am I nervous?, as two virgins on their wedding night. But looking back at pictures and remembering feeling mortified looking at myself in a full body mirror and not able to enjoy life.. feeling my lowest point when weight started to nag at who I was and where I wanted to be... all the procrastination went out the window. Don’t give up. I was robbed of who I’m supposed to be and Friday I will collect justice.

I am quite the "offender" as well! I know that I shouldn't but it drives me nuts wondering. Recently I have hit a massive plateau and it is totally bumming me out and I keep losing and regaining the same 5-10 pounds! I know I need to lay off the scale so I am going to make a concerted effort to only weigh in the morning! Thanks for the reminder! Alisa

Just started about to sart week to so far i had blended lactose free fat free cottage cheese, some lactose free yogurt that was fat free and protein shakes today i used crystal light lice and unflavored uerjery put put it in a blender and had a frozen lemon aid and lots and lots of water. I am still behind I am about 19 down one week latter

1. Not being able to fit the items in my closet i have wore once or not at all 2. Aggravating my knee and ankles 3. Not being able to be comfortable at water parks 4. Not feeling as if i compliment my spouse well being overweight. 5. Not having the energy to get through my work outs 6. Not feeling as healthy 7. Not sleeping well (position) wise 8. sex position due to being overweight 9.wearing the same get up because i refuse to buy more close at a weight/size I don't desire to stay at. 10. Avoiding social invites, or activities at time, so folks wont see how fat i have gotten!

I am going to Tijuana, Mexico with Dr. Fernando Garcia on September 10

My first 50 lbs lost someone said "Pam did you drop a couple of pounds?) .grrrrrrr. well I probably did wear my pants a bit on the comfy side before but sheesh, 50lbs? Funny thing is 15 lbs more and then people were more like omg. Pammmmmmm you lost so much weight. I think your body hits a place where it changes. Then Id lose another 30 and no one would notice then 5 lbs more then it would be omg your gonna be skinny soon. Now after 100 lbs every 10-15 lbs is kinda noticable and my clothes changes. In fact I had a revision in early October and ive gained 35 lbs back and none of my clothes fit. sad!!!

the tightness in my chest finally started to disappear today. i only get it now and then, but mostly about 10 minutes after drinking. i hope it goes away for you soon! keep walking & maybe that will help. i try to walk every hour for at least 5 minutes.

I started my 10 pre-op diet today , So far I do not feel hungry but I do have a headache .... otherwise I hope to stay on track. I am only allowed 3 protein shakes per day .... good luck to us all

I was one of the lucky ones too. But that's not to say I didn't have to do something. After having my first appt. and class, I was put on a pre-op diet. That was Oct.2012. I did really good ate sort of what I wanted, just kept portions down. And by my last appt. which was Dec 10 I was down 20#. That was the goal my Dr had given me to lose before surgery. So he scheduled my Sleeve Jan. 14 , 2013! It's been going good ever since, and because I was eating healthy for 3 1/2 months before surgery. I just followed the pattern after wls. Of course way way smaller meals now:)

It was hard at first. If you're still on a restricted diet that makes it even harder. In the beginning when I could only eat a few bites of a meal and actually wanted (NEEDED) to eat more I was so incredibly frustrated by commercials and food television. Once you get into eating a more regular diet it should go away. Well, with the exception of that monthly cycle. I could eat paint chips off the wall during the day before my cycle starts if I got hungry enough! It's the only real head hunger I feel now. You're less than a month out. Trust me that this does fade and get easier. And I was a carb junkie prior to surgery, too. Those cravings take a long time to leave the body. You will get there. I'll be honest and suggest that you evaluate what you're eating. If you're severely restricting your carbs (40-50 per day) you might consider allowing yourself an increase to see how you do. If you don't see negative effects on the scale but do notice that you're not feeling denied, well, that's excellent progress. Jumping from pre-op diet to a no-fat, no-carb incredibly strict diet post-op isn't an easy transition mentally or physically. I'd reevaluate if you think this might be part of your issue. This is forever - you chose an irreversible surgery. So expecting yourself to live on a diet forever isn't going to make you a happy person, even if it does get you to goal. Branch out your options as much as possible! Spice things up and see how that helps. I sometimes hit a slump (at 19 months out!) where I get sick of eating Protein first and need to make a change in what I'm eating. Good luck, ~Cheri

Make a list pros and cons and really think about the benefits of the surgery and If u have any health problems that surgery will benefit you. I also backed out of surgery a year prior to my surgery. I had never had surgery and was scared to death about it an now even though I had gotten a leak and 1 surgery turned into 4 I highly regret that I didn't have my surgery sooner. It was the best decision I made. 10 months post op and down 92 pounds. Good luck

Cross fit definitely has cardio, but they call it metabolic conditioning. It is a bit like HIIT in that it really trains and pushes your cardio response in terms of stamina and endurance. The metabolic conditioning (or met cons) workouts tend to be short. Most workouts are between 10-20 minutes, but some are even shorter (a good Fran workout time may be 4 minutes or a Tabata style workout might be 8 minutes) and some are longer ( average filthy 50 time would be about 30 minutes, I do it in about 23 minutes). The length of a met con workout, if the workout is for time, depends on how fast you are which translates into how fit you are while paying close attention to good form and movement for a set of core competences. Each workout tests the following list of core competences: Metabolic Conditioning - builds capacity in each of three metabolic pathways, beginning with aerobic, then lactic acid, and then phosphocreatine pathways. Gymnastics - establishes functional capacity for body control and range of motion. Weightlifting and throwing - develop ability to control external objects and produce power. Sport - applies fitness in competitive atmosphere with more randomized movements and skill mastery. There is always room to improve any one of these areas no matter where you are at in your fitness journey.

I had my surgery on 04/09/19. Before the surgery I was 265 at my 1 week post op I was 243 but two weeks after when I weighed myself it’s say 250 am not sure what exactly is going on, like am really losing my mind . I had to stop taking my vitamins because they wouldn’t stay down so my doctor asked me to stop taking them until am ready I to take the in 4 weeks. Did anyone going through this.

I too have restriction right now. I can barely get all my liquids down. I just had my 2 week appointment and the nutritionist said 1 out of every 10 people she has seen with lapband didnt't need a fill for at least their 1st 6 months. May be I will be on of those lucky ones.

I am in the same boat!!! My surgery is scheduled for Jan 19!! This diet sucks but at the same time i am realizing how much my life (or lack thereof) was revolved around food!! I feel like I have more time on my hands and my brain is free to think about other things!! lol its reallllllly hard doing this... You are lucky you get to at least eat some food still !! My diet is strictly liquids, including Soup but soup that has NO chunks or anything in it.... Plain ol' Cream soup! Oh yum.. =/ The only trick I have, is to keep busy and also keep a bottle of Water or whatever you can drink in hand at all times!! Good luck to you!!

my friends think this is so easy. have surgery, lose the weight, no work at all. the preop is so difficult for me. I too cheated 10 days out. I am hoping the fear I feel about the surgery being called off keeps me on track. I am in a panic that I will fail.

My surgery has been a personal journey. No family, friends, work are aware. Only my husband outside of medical staff. Therefore, I cannot share pics but wish I could. I started out in a size 16, BMI 35. Now I am able to get into some 10s, 12 very comfortably. As you must be aware, this choice is not exactly main stream accepted...yet! It comes with criticism about being lazy and just not trying hard enough, or taking the easy way out. This far from the easy way out. In one of the pre surgical meetings another patient said I didn't need the surgery. Granted her bmi was much greater than mine. An attitude I dealt with from many others during the pre surgical process. According to every weight chart I did qualify and I was the one willing to take the necessary steps to admit, and correct the fact that I was unable to lose and maintain weight loss on my own. Humbling. Having had enough, I looked her in the eye and told her it really wasn't a very fair judgement since I did not judge why it took her so long to make the decision for surgery. Borderline BMI or under 40 BMI patients face criticism from society and are not as supported for their decision both socially and by some medical staff. We tend to have to keep our choice for surgery hidden. Not fair, but true until care givers become more supportive and less judgmental. This surgery is becoming a very healthy cash cow so I anticipate a major attitude change in the next 5 years or so. Hopfully you are getting all the support you need and the criticism is minimal and easily ignored. Some criticize because they do not have the courage or the ambition it takes to do this. If you face any of those people, consider them jealous and stay on track. We have to stay diligent for the rest of our lives for lifelong success. I did this for a better health. If it is a choice for me between improving my health or someone else's opinion...they lose!! My almost 30 lb loss includes the lbs lost pre surgery. Post surgery it has been 20 & climbing. Stay off the scale daily. I was just stressing myself out. Once a week now. I have stalled in the past week but I know plateaues are to be expected. Eating all foods now. You will find what works best for You. Immediately following surgery egg drop Soup worked best. Goes down easy & high in Protein. I had trouble this week with chicken and pork tenderloin. Both came back up. Cooked the pork in the crock, shredded and chewed a lot but just too dense. Chicken was dry and just got stuck. I accept responsibility that I have to eat much more slowly. Lesson learned. Don't be scared to try things when it is time. Everyone is different. Even if it comes back up I is not like when your are illness sick. It comes back up, you feel better, done. Those 2 times are the only 2 times. Are you thirsty? I am and so was every other VSG patient in our post op group meeting. I believe this is different than the other bypass surgeries. Keep up the good work! I am thrilled I had it done. Hope your results are similar.

Sounds crazy, doesn't it? I've had a couple half days off work and have been breaking my butt the past five days doing spring clean up. Tons of raking, mowing, pulling out vines, cutting down scrap vegetation, chopping out huge piles of stuff to burn, cleaning the tree line, cleaning up raised garden beds, tilling. Doing stuff i've wanted to do for years:) It really feels amazing to work outside for most of the day and not be out of breath after half an hour. I never thought I'd get back to this level of stamina or energy. It's amazing to me, and I am LOVING it! And ON TOP of the very cool reality that I'm gonna have a veggie garden and awesome herb garden this year (and a super tidy gorgeous yard)....this little spurt of added exercise has kicked my metabolism into gear and i've lost 10 pounds in the last month.....which is pretty darned cool given that the previous two months had slowed down to 5-6 pound losses. Yard work isn't generally something people write home about and enjoy.......but this year, it couldn't be more welcome:)

Hi, I have been on my pre-op diet since Saturday last and have lost 10 Ibs. Just on protein drinks 4 times a day and a couple of apples and have found it much easier than expected. I was offered similar to you, i.e. veg etc but decided no, I would keep in simple by keeping myself right out of the kitchen. I thought I would really struggle but perhaps my brain has simply said I can't cheat because if I cheat even once then my liver will expand and I may delay the surgery I have so looked forward to. It isn't worth it. Good luck and be strong.

I have been hypothyroid for many years, had the surgery 10/31/12 and lost 107 lbs. Last March I became hyperthyroid for some reason for a few months, then dropped and became very hypo again. The endocrinologist says she has no idea why it happened. I think it really contributed to hair loss, but not too much to weight loss. She put me on tirosint, a thyroid replacement medication that is more expensive but believed to be better absorbed in our small stomachs. My levels have been steady since. The thought is that once one has thyroid problems they are more likely to have more thyroid problems down the road. We just have to stay vigilant.

So, Ive been lurking on these boards forever reading all of your stories and hoping that one day I would get to share my story as well. I looked into the bypass more than a year ago when my doctor suggested it, I was fed up with my wieght, I dont seem to lose weight anymore I go on diet after diet to no avail and come out heavier than i started. I got diagnosed with pre diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension and knew I had to make a change.. Unfortuanately when I started the journey then, I lost insurance and wasnt able to carry through, but I kept believing that one day, maybe, I to, would be a success story. I spent a year researching and making sure this was absolutely the option I wanted to take. Im really excited I have met with a nutritionist, I have a doctors appointment tomorrow, I have my psych eval set up in May and I have called my Cigna insurance spoke with them a couple of times and I have a 3 month waiting period with the dietician. I have always been overwieght since around the age of 10. I remember my doctor talking to my mother about getting me on a diet, and she declined saying it was stress of the loss of grandparents. That stress eating got me to the pleasently plump woman I am today.. The woman who feels like she has gotten to a point of no return. I actually lost a significant amount of weight about 4 years ago, I had gotten tired of it and completely revamped my life I lost 90 lbs! I looked amazing, I loved being alive, I had a whole new love for fittness that I had never thought was possible! I really miss that girl, and Im sure my kids do to. I got pregnant with my twins and the weight came on like no other.. I gained 80 lbs with my twins but actually once i delivered and healed from my vertical c-section them I was only about 30 lbs more than when i started. I of course had a lot of excess skin, something only cosmetic surgery will fix, but I felt good. Unfortunately, the next year and a half of sleepless nights caused my weight to spiral out of control, throw in every stress imaginable with being a mother of 4, working full time, finishing a degree, and LIFE and what do you get, ME! I know that my weight has put a strain on my relationship, I'm to the point that I dont want to leave the house because I feel so ashamed. My kids use to love when I took them on hikes and bike riding, and now it doesnt even seem obtainable. I feel horrible that I have allowed myself to become like this. I always put my children first and did everything for them and their health and making sure they had a good life and everything they could ever want, I just never thought my weight was taking away from them.. but now I know it is. As far as support goes, little to none, but that doesnt stop me I have always been my biggest cheerleader when it comes to getting what I want anyway. My fiance "supports" it but he got angry at me the other day and told me I was being selfish to him and he didnt have anything to look forward to and now i do. I know that when it comes down to it, this decision and my new lifestyle will cause some issues with us, however at this point I feel that I'm doing the right thing for me and my future. I hope that once he sees the changes in me, and starts to see me for the girl I was when he met me, maybe his attitude will change.