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I don't know where my other post went - I swore I typed one up earlier. Oh well - Here we go again! So, I'm at 3 weeks out exactly today from my SADI (Sleeve + Intestinal shortening) surgery and I'm definitely starting to feel less pulling and pinching with movements. I'm beginning week two of my puree diet, and I feel like it's going pretty well. During the Protein shake / liquid post diet for two weeks I did deal with constipation. It's still leveling out, but as I eat more 'regular' food (Even as a puree) that seems to be lifting a bit. I did still take some milk of magnesia yesterday out of caution because I hadn't 'gone' in two days, and didn't want to worry about it worsening. I'd say the hardest part for me continues to be the 'No drinking 30 mins before/after meals' but I use the Baritastic app to set a timer. I also use the timer to make sure my 'meals' take at least 30 minutes. Want to make sure I don't rush and end up feeling poorly afterward. Things that have worked well for me during my puree stage include egg drop soup, chicken/tuna salad made with puree chicken or tuna, light mayo, and sometimes a bit of relish, and for added protein a boiled egg or two, with or without the yolks per preference. (Dill relish is healthier than sweet relish). I did allow myself 2-3 saltines with those, usually about 3.5 oz of the tuna or chicken salad makes me feel sated. Other recipes that have worked include the ricotta bake and unstuffed cabbage rolls, pureed low fat/0 sugar yogurt or cottage cheese with Genepro powder and cooked, strained strawberries or blueberries (I added a bit of 0% Milk to make it more of a smoothie), Riccotta pureed with either a bit of fruit or avocado, small serving of oatmeal pureed with fruit (test yourself with an ounce or two less than you normally eat for oatmeal because it sits heavy and often swells - add some zero or skim milk to make it thinner if needed. Other recipes include homemade no-noodle chicken soup of sorts with rotisserie chicken, chicken broth, and pureed carrots w/a little bit of onion powder or diced onion. I also made a homemade 'philly cheese steak' filling of sorts with some sautéed bell peppers and a bit of diced onion, some roast beef lunch meat, and cream cheese. Others speak highly of pureed refried beans with a bit of seasoning to taste more like taco meat, adding either a bit of mild salsa or a combination of onion powder and perhaps a bit of cumin. That's a personal choice, and definitely suggest going slow with your seasoning due to possible heartburn. You could add a bit of shredded low-fat/skim mozzarella or even low fat sour cream to round it out. Today I made 'chicken pot pie w/no crust' which was basically just cooked carrots and finely diced celery and onions with finely diced rotisserie chicken with a can each of 98% fat free cream of celery and 98% fat free cream of chicken. I haven't had any yet because I'm a little unsure about the celery, even cooked, but pureed and in a small serving I'm sure it would treat me fine. The Ricotta Bake I made was super simple and I know there are a lot of variations to the recipe online. I made my own marinara sauce by peeling about 5 smallish tomatoes, dicing them, and simmering them with a little less than equal parts water, Italian seasoning, and a bit of diced onion. The ricotta mixture was easy; just used 8oz ricotta cheese, 1 egg, 1/2 cup of grated parmesan (I used the shaker but fresh is better) and 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese. I put a layer of half the mix on the bottom of a buttered baking dish, topped it with 1/2 lb cooked and seasoned ground beef, then put the rest of the mixture on top. Poured about 3/4 of the homemade marinara over it then covered the dish with aluminum foil and baked at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. It's basically a no-noodle lasagna. The Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls I made were equally easy - I used a rotary grinder (Works SO well, bought on Amazon for around twenty bucks) to grate half a head of lettuce. Instead of canned diced tomatoes I once I again peeled about 5 small/medium tomatoes and diced them, adding to the skillet along with maybe 1/8 cup diced onion and another 1/2 lb of the ground beef. For seasoning the recipe I used just had me add a packet of Italian Dressing Seasoning mix. The family enjoyed it and after pureeing the ground beef a bit I found it fine to eat, although slowly and very well chewed (same with the ground beef in my ricotta bake). Both it and the Ricotta bake probably make about eight 1/3 cup servings with about 22g of Protein each. I want to respond more to folks - @Pepper_No_Salt I hate that you're dealing with so much nausea! I absolutely second talking to your care team about that. There are some nausea pills that dissolve under the tongue and work more quickly for me than the Zofran, they'd probably be willing to call you in some. Things that made me feel queasy were taking meds or vitamins before my meal had hit bottom, drinking too quickly, not walking around after I ate, and taking calcium and my multivitamin with iron too close to my Calcium. Not sure if any of that helps - I am also taking Prilosec for heartburn in the mornings and they had me add Magnesium Citrate at bedtime to help with constipation. Sometimes when I'm due to pass gas or have a bowel movement working its way through my system I'd start to feel a little icky and not really nauseous but more anxiety / feelings of fullness. I found that for whatever reason putting an ice pack on my chest or low back helped. I hope you find some relief! Oh, I also found that as soon as my thirty minutes post-meal is up it helps me to sip on REALLY cold water or Gatorade zero, especially if I do it while standing and moving around a little bit. I equate it to the need to get the burps out after eating, just like I had to do post-surgery. @ShoppGirl - Thanks for all of your support and input. I continue to read your posts and while I'm low energy on responding right now I hope the details of my recipe for the unstuffed cabbage bake is helpful! @draikaina8503 - Congratulations on your walk! I still wear out quickly even at three weeks out, but I knew the first month or two would be a slog and do feel my energy is rebounding. @Onemealplan - Sounds like you're doing great and I hope you enjoy the heck out of your vacation! I second what you said to @ShoppGirl about trying the crab, and hope the meals you do get to taste on vacation treat you well. I think her advice to just explain you're recovery from stomach surgery should more than reassure any staff concerned about your small portions. @AndreaJD I'm so glad your sister has been supportive! My 'chosen' brother and best friend has likewise done the same. He's been on a Keto journey for about two years with great results and I worried at first that he would think I was taking the 'easy way out' and now that he's heard more he's been great in reassuring me that he does NOT think that is the case at all, and in fact believes I chose a great option for myself that moves things along quicker but certainly with a lot of sacrifice and hard work. I also completely agree with you on the 'mind hunger' vs 'body hunger'. I'm lucky that I do feel a bit of pressure in my chest that I now identify as a feeling of 'fullness' as opposed to anxiety and I'm less worried about my protein goals now that I have the Genepro protein powder. I love that it isn't gritty when I mix it in with things as long as I mix it with something room temperature FIRST. That's on the instructions, actually, as is the fact that for your macros to count it as like 30-ish grams of protein per scoop rather than the 'weight' listed in Nutrition facts of 11g/scoop. Just wanted to make sur eI mentioned that! Oh - in regards to weighing - I get on the scale every day or so to kind of 'reinforce' what I'm doing, but remember that sometimes you see more from your measuring tape at the waist, hips, etc than the scale will show. Also head's up, a lot of folks plateau for a handful of days around week three and it will happen on and off moving forward, so don't be discouraged by that! @RRenaeL23 - I hope these recipes and suggestions for your puree diet work well! I'm still finding myself comfortable eating no more than about 3-4 oz at a meal, and certainly am following the no drinking 30 mins before/after meals. It's absolutely easier for me to do if I make sure my meal is on the moist side, even if it means adding a little extra water. It's better to add protein powder (Can't speak highly enough of the unflavored Genepro) to hit your protein goal than to overeat to make it, that's for sure! I'm always eager for my 30 minutes to be up so I can sip on icy cold water or Gatorade Zero. @Meme Campbell - Best of luck to you on your surgery tomorrow! Don't hesitate to ask for ice packs and pain relief and take advantage of the pain relief to get some walking in, especially the first couple of days. The pain lessons as you walk because it works the gas out. I also strongly suggest sipping your shakes / water / propel sitting as upright as is possible and not laying back until about ten minutes has passed or you've burped a few times! Keep us updated! Most of us in this thread have already had our surgeries but if you read through the first 3-7 pages you'll get a pretty good idea of what to expect if you don't already feel prepared. It's a bit of a process but the pain WILL start to lessen in the coming weeks! Don't be surprised when you get tired super quickly and be gentle on your body. Across the board surgeons seem to agree that your #1 priority fresh out of surgery will be walking as tolerated, focusing on your hydration, and getting as much protein as you comfortably can. Don't let yourself go more than three days without a bowel movement - Milk of Magnesia works wonders for that. I let myself go 5 days post surgery and that was a somewhat painful and unpleasant process to reverse. Colace makes your bowel movements 'smoother' but is NOT a laxative. If you deal with heartburn talk to your team - they put me on Prilosec for now. We're rooting for you! Sorry for anyone I missed; not sure what happened to my other post. Wishing you all the best in surgeries and recoveries!

I totally get what you're saying! I realize that the portions are getting bigger, but I'm just so scared of messing it up. I definitely need to see someone about these thoughts because it's really overwhelming at times. I actually have an appointment in mid-October with the obesity center and dietitian, and then again in December with the surgical team for my 3-month post-op checkup. I’m excited to talk to them about these fears and what expectations I should have around portion sizes and everything else. To help stay on track, I've been taking daily pictures of my meals and sending them to my sister for her to review at the end of the day. She even rates them, which has been fun and keeps me mindful! Everyone around me keeps saying that I'm barely eating enough, but to me, it feels like I'm eating a lot. It’s such a mentally exhausting situation! Also, I was never really into sweets before either. My thing was more about carby foods like rice and pasta, so that's why I’m not struggling with sugar cravings now, which helps a lot.

my NUT wanted me at 1500 cals (if i remember correctly) by my 3 month mark. ha. ha. i was at like 300-400 cals a day at my 3 month mark. even less at my 2 mnth mark. i don't think i reached 1500 calories regularly until AFTER my 1 year post-op mark (and i was already in maintenance since the 7 mnth post-op mark) 🤷🏻‍♀️

@Dchonlee I first went to the Bariatric clinic October 2023. I was 363 lbs. I had my gastric bypass surgery Feb 7th. I lost 79 lbs. from October to my surgery date. Since, I've lost 50 lbs. Right not I'm in a big stall, and I've actually gained a few pounds. I did find out I have an ear infection in both ears. Currently on meds to take care of it. So, i assume the gain is from that. But the stall is nearing a month long. I've lost a lot of weight since October. I know it's slowing even being only 4 months post-op. The stall is still concerning. But, in saying that. I can tell I have other changes happening. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Just keep doing what you're supposed to and you will be fine.

I'm in the exact same situation. (Also in the UK). I'm going through the NHS. I wasn't expecting to have to start the diet so soon either. I was hoping to at least get my birthday and my friend's wedding out of the way before having to be restricted. I wasted a lot of food as I just bought groceries before my appointment. I'm not sure if the whole 12 weeks is the liver shrinking diet or just the last three weeks. I did mess up in a moment of feeling like I was starving and I had 4 slices of toast. If the whole 12 weeks is to shrink the liver, I wouldn't risk eating anything not on the list if it can be avoided. If just the last three weeks is the liver shrinking diet, maybe one "proper meal" a week is fine?

Today marks 6 months since my gastric bypass surgery! It's also almost exactly one year since I attended the orientation class at the weight loss center that was the first step in beginning the surgical program. I came home after the class and took a "before" photo. I had just weighed in at my highest weight ever. I was on blood pressure meds and my A1c put me in the prediabetic danger zone. My joints ached every morning. My 50th birthday was looming and I felt so old. The day after that photo, I started making changes to my diet. I lost 13 lbs from August until early February. I lost an additional 13 lbs on my 2-week liquid diet. I had my surgery on February 21 and since then, I've lost another 45lbs, for a total of 71 lbs down! My blood pressure is normal, and so is my A1c. The aches and pains are gone, and I'm hitting my 10k step goal several days each week. I'm nowhere near perfect, but I'm improving steadily. I honestly couldn't tell you the last time I was this weight. It had to have been when I was around 22 years old. Like pretty much everyone says, my only regret is not doing this sooner.

Thank you for your message! It’s really reassuring to hear that 10 kg in six weeks is within the normal range, especially from someone who’s been through it and had such amazing results like you. I also appreciate you pointing out that a lot of things are beyond my control, and I need to focus on what I can control. It’s so easy to fall into the comparison trap, but you’re right—I need to stop doing that and just keep going. Your story is super inspiring, and I’ll hold onto it whenever I feel doubtful. I’m definitely motivated to stay consistent with my eating and gym routine now. Thanks again for sharing your experience and for the tough love! 😊

7th week out and some days harder than others with nausea

it's 50% of EXCESS body weight - not total body weight. Also, a 10-20 lb rebound weight gain after hitting our lowest weight is VERY common - it happens to the vast majority of us, usually in year 3. In fact, that's why I intentionally went under my goal, to account for that very common 10-20 lb bump up. (and like you, for most of us it just kind of happens without much "effort" on our part - it's basically your body settling in at a weight it's comfortable at) so everything you said is completely normal, and certainly not indicative of failure. That said, if you DO want to lose more weight, then yes, a revision or something like a GLP-1 would likely help. But you certainly didn't fail the surgery.

I had my gall bladder removed in 1997 when I was 4 months pregnant. I was told no caffeine for 6 months, nothing high in fat for a year, no soda or carbonation for 4-6 months based on how I tolerated it, and no restrictions on when I could introduce fiber. I stuck to this and did fine. Once my son was 3 months old and I was exclusively formula feeding him (supply just dried up and nothing helped), I went to drinking whatever I wanted and eating what I wanted and it was fine.

How’s everyone in the July group doing so far? I think I’m 16 days out as of today. My surgery went well and recovery has been quite swift. I’m cleared to swim and do non vigorous exercises. Yay! I loved to swim laps prior to surgery, so I’m pretty thrilled to be back at the pool. It feels so good to move and my mobility has already gotten better! I feel pretty good overall. I have weird days where I’m honestly just angry. Some of that is frustration with eating 1/4 cup meals of food. I just need to work through that and acknowledge my feelings. My journaling pen has also been getting a workout. I’m also a little frustrated with how much physical hunger I feel as well. I’m learning to deal with it and find other things to occupy my time instead of eating or thinking about eating/cooking/etc. I wanted to note here that I spent a lot of time worrying before the surgery about the outcome, or “what if I feel like crap?” Well, the reality is that I felt like crap for about 3-4 days because of gas and fluid. But, then it was over and I felt ok pretty quick. Don’t waste your time dwelling on that stuff. Get your fluids, your walks and your protein. I recommend Unjury chicken soup protein if you’re having problems getting your shakes down. Do what you’re supposed to do and in time you’ll thank yourself for taking care of yourself. Sometimes what gets me through the negative thoughts is that these first few weeks are temporary and meant to retrain your stomach and your brain to make healthy choices. The weeks after surgery WILL pass quickly and you will come out the other side AND BE OK. Use the time to put some healthy routines in your pocket involving self-care, exercise, hydration, walking and protein. I’m excited to see where this journey will take me.

My surgeon cleared me for a little caffeine and I switched to decaf from week 2-6. Six weeks on I restricted myself to one cup of coffee a day only, occasionally 2 (second one decaf always) and that's huge progress from 4 cups of coffee a day. You can incorporate caffeine in your post op diet (6 weeks on), but make sure to check with your team first.

Hi, thank you all so much for your answers (I'm just seeing them, sorry for the late reply)! I feel a bit better about it. It's just hecka frustrating to not know what you might be doing wrong. That said, the sleeve is still sleeving; my restriction was ridiculous yesterday. My husband and I took our youngest out for Sarku Japan and I swear I didn't even make a dent in my food. I was really shocked. Some days are like that where I feel like I'm back in my 3-4 ounce days. I said to my husband, "Looks like this is gonna be another one of those things that takes me three days to finish!" I'm not exaggerating. We went for ramen last year, and it literally took me three days. I'm going to continue to adjust accordingly, take inventory of any bad habits. I guess I need to fight harder. I'll look into the GLP-1 thing definitely; but that stuff is caro.💀🐾

I had to do Gatorade start 4 hours before surgery and finish within a hour so by 3 hours before and they said it helps with nausea post surgery. Mine had to be regular one which has sugar so not certain if it’s for the same thing.

Yes! I've been having the same discussion with my doctor. I "haven't met my weight loss goal" for the last two weeks because I'm still at 116kg. But, my body composition shows it's because going to the gym has been working and I'm gaining muscle. They just want smaller numbers on the scale and smaller numbers on the BMI. @SleeveToBypass2023 I'm really sorry you've had all this stress. Just sending sympathies.

Oh, I forgot to mention for breast cancer if someone is considering reconstruction afterwards, which I am, the cosmetic surgeon said there is no rush for his part. They are going to put in expanders during my mastectomy and they can stay in a pretty long time safely. This means that I can wait until I reach my goal weight to do the cosmetic part. The way it works. Is they put in the expanders in and they are like deflated balloons that are sewn to the chest wall and slowly inflate them a little bit at a time each week until you find a size that suits your body. But if I’m still actively losing, that may be too big so they can also deflate it if I want to until I find a size that is comfortable for me and my body is settled and then schedule the surgery. Since that’s just the cosmetic part, the cancer will already be gone. Well, I know that when I lost weight with the sleeve, I had bounced back weight. So I think I’m going to stick with the expanders for a while and just make sure that my body doesn’t change before I commit to something in a surgery. They did say that if you gain a significant or lose a significant amount of weight and the implant shifts or whatever that they will do surgery again, but of course that’s costly and painful and I’m already just about sick of doctors so I’m sure by then I won’t want to do that. Anyways, that is an option someone else may want to consider as well. Some doctors tried to push doing both parts of the surgery in one, skipping the expanders and just putting the implants in right away, but my doctor did not recommend that for my situation.

I have been using Nioxin Stage 3, I do a bayalge with blond every 3 ish months and I will say using the shampoo, conditioner and scalp treatment REALLY REALLY helped! I also put a Rosemary oil in my hair the night before hair wash day (I only wash my hair 2x a week) My shedding IS SIGNIFIGANTLY less. I also use 2 TBLS of collagen in my profee every morning along and biotin with my morning vitamins.

So I get very very very hungry right before my period and the first few days of my cycle. It is so intense that I feel that there is a hole in my stomach where the food disappears 10 minutes after I’ve eaten. It is so weird and I have never experienced this pre WLS. I have clocked 1750 calories for 4 days straight and a whopping 120 grams of protein because I can’t seem to get full. Then I just lose interest in eating for the rest of my cycle, anyone else experience this? Things I’ve eaten the past few days: Galore of burgers. Double smashed cheeseburgers, a classic burger, and a spicy crispy chicken burger. Maple buffalo shrimps Up close and personal on the spicy chicken burger. So hubby was quite taken aback at how much I ordered (knowing he’ll have to eat most of it, teaser: he did) I got excited to try everything (teaser: I didn’t). I hade around 3/4 of one half of the smash cheeseburger, and a bite of the spicy chicken burger which was soooo good but then I felt so sick and regretted eating that. Hubby ate most of the shrimps, his whole burger and my half. The rest was put in the fridge. There was also a large portion of fries which I didn’t taste.

I've still been lurking around over here! I can't wait to be able to get in the water and swim; I feel like they told me I had to wait 4 -6 weeks until I can swim? I'm going to revisit that with them, because that pushes into the end of swim season

Personally, I have stayed away from it. I was told once I hit a year out, I could slowly try a little every once in a great while but the carbonation really didn't sit well with me. The syrup in the diet soda literally tasted like pure sugar. I was shocked. I couldn't tolerate it. I tried 3 different kinds of diet sodas (luckily my hubby likes them so they didn't go to waste) and the carbonation really bothered me and the taste was too sweet for me. I tried 2 different kinds of carbonated drinks (non sodas) and again, the carbonation bothered me a lot. So I've given it up. I don't need it, anyway. I use to drink a 2 liter per day of soda, so not drinking it really isn't a bad thing, anyway.

So, there's a normal meal and then there's what you get in a restaurant or what we've been taught to think is a normal meal. At about 8 months out, I can eat a full serving of chicken breast. That's defined as being between 3-4 oz. And in the same sitting, I can also eat a serving of broccoli, which is about 1 cup. I don't tend to eat grains often, but if someone gave me a serving of brown rice, which is 1/2 cup cooked, along with the chicken and the broccoli, I could probably eat about half of that on a good day, but not touch it on a day when I have a smaller appetite. Personally, I would be more likely to substitute a second veg or a fruit. What I've just listed would be considered a "standard" meal by a nutrition expert. It has about 280 calories and 24 g protein, and provides balanced nutrition from several food groups, along with fiber. But most people would probably think it was way too small, and if you went to a restaurant, you would get 4x that much food, plus half a gallon of fat and sugar laden sauce on top. And probably cheese, just for good measure. Could I eat that? No. And hopefully I will never be able to. A sandwich is tricky because of bread. I find bread too filling. I was out this weekend at a sports stadium and had to order my lunch from a food truck. I chose the grilled chicken pita wrap and ate all of the insides but treated the pita like a plate that got thrown away at the end. I do the same with a soup and half sandwich combo from a restaurant, eating the sandwich filling and the soup but ditching the bread.

So I went with the SADI and I am two weeks post op now. I did have loose movements for three days but only the one in the morning and since then I have been constipated or normal but back and forth. It’s weird because everyone warned me about diarrhea and that hasn’t happened yet. Does it wait until you are on more normal foods maybe?

Are you consistently taking your vitamins? What about iron? I felt extremely exhausted until I started my iron supplements although I wasn’t anemic or anything, on the lower side of iron reserves. Also, make sure to take your multivitamin and omega 3 daily as they really made a difference in how I felt. I used to literally feel dizzy as soon as I’ve gotten up. I also eat every 1.5 hours if I’m not busy. I would also suggest upping your carb intake slowly because carbs make all the difference in our energy levels. I really hope you find your sweet spot, but also don’t fight it too much! I wish you the best ♥️

Congrats on how well you have been doing!! I had the gastric sleeve and would love to share my story The good: I had my surgery on January 24, 2024, and I am now almost one year post-op. I reached my goal weight about seven months after the surgery and have been maintaining it within a +/- 3-pound range. Once I started weightlifting, I noticed a significant transformation in my body, which has kept me motivated because I am starting to love what I see in the mirror. I have gone from a size 2/3X top to an XS/S top, and from size 18 pants to size 4. I never imagined my body could look and feel this good. My health has vastly improved, and I have so much energy. I am happier, and that positivity radiates from me. The bad/challenges: I still experience episodes of binge eating, although it is not as severe as it was before. However, when I'm not being mindful, I tend to grab chips and eat too many, or take mini candies and other snacks that I shouldn't have. I am aware of my actions, but for some reason, I don't seem to care in the moment. It has happened maybe two to three times, and each time, I feel really angry with myself. I recognize that this is something I need to work on, and I'm conscious of it. I understand that this will be a lifelong challenge for me, but I am actively working on it and taking it one day at a time. I tend to be hard on myself because I am so afraid of going back to my old habits. This is a second chance at life and I want to make the most of this! Everyone has their own journey. We will all face challenges and struggles, but for the most part, this is an amazing tool! Make the most of it in the first 12 to 18 months. Take advantage of the rapid weight loss, work out, and engage in activities that intimidated you when you weighed more. Take risks, because I promise you will be so happy that you did!

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.