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Today was a very gratifying visit with my surgeon today. At 6 weeks, I got my 10# weight restriction removed, got cleared to consume my gall-bladder and prilosec meds in the capsule, and officially progressed to real foods. I was worried because it feels like my weight loss stalled, but the doctor told me I had lost 15 pounds since I saw him last. He also said that at 6 weeks out, people typically lose between 16-25% excess weight. He said I was ahead of that, almost 27%. But now onto the good stuff. What can I eat? For example, I was thinking about making taco meat with ground turkey and then mixing the meat with salsa. I was also thinking of making the meat (using ground turkey) sauce for lasagna, maybe with some low/no-fat mozzarella cheese in it. I know to stay away from the taco shells and the pasta in the lasagna. I guess my question is, I've heard that many people cannot tolerate ground beef. What about ground turkey? I buy 93% or leaner ground turkey (I think I usually get 97%) so I don't think there will be an appreciable amount of fat. I've been eating canned chicken (in water) with salsa, hot sauce and liquid smoke. It tastes good to me, and digests completely fine. Thank you for your thoughts...I'm taking this very slow, I don't want to throw up or dump, or stretch the pouch.

@TropicalBeachDoll I can't believe they felt an "intervention" was necessary to stop you from doing something that you really benefit fit you and allow to live a longer, healthier life with better quality of living. You must have had the patience of a saint to be able to sit there for 3 hours and listen to them (well intended or not). For the most part, I am keeping my decision to myself (aside from discussing it with my wife, parents and the HR department at my job--since I am going to need an accommodation so I can have the time off for the surgery and recovery, tests etc.) As far as family reactions go, my dad and wife had the same type of negative reaction at first that your family is having (mom is 100% behind my decision). My dad asked me a few questions about the procedures, but never gave me his opinion on whether I should go forward with this decision and, according to mom he is really uncomfortable with the idea of me having this surgery and won't discuss it with me (probably because my mother would kill him if he tried to dissuade me). My wife is really worried about the procedure (understandable) and whether it would be worth it in the end (it will be), but she read the information I gave her and is on board (sort of, but not really). In the end, it's my body, my choice. While I value my wife and parents' opinions, this is my call to make and I made it. I know that having this surgery is going to make a huge positive difference on my life and health. I am not going to be one of those people that gives in to fear and/or family pressure, only to find myself in a terrible state of health 10 years from now wondering how my life would have been different had I had the surgery.

I have had my band for 10 years and I’ll be revising to a sleeve next year. I had to have all fluid removed. My story is not the horror show some have. I don’t have a slip or a port flip that I know of (confirmed via swallow test) and my pouch isn’t stretched that I have been told but for whatever reason, it simply becomes too tight (even now with no fluid ) on occasion and I’m unable to eat solid foods. So I turn to “sliders” because I’m hungry. But sometimes even those come back. The Dr recommended revision and frankly, I’m tired of the “stuck” thing on a regular basis. If I am asked if I recommend it I have to say maybe but leaning to no. There is a lot of upkeep and so many drs are leaving this technology behind that I simply don’t feel it will continue to be properly supported. But I would also never discourage someone who wanted it - with one caveat. I think the best thing to do is GET A HANDLE ON YOUR EMOTIONAL EATING because the band *will not* help you with it. In many ways, it’s worse because the “bad foods” like cookies, ice cream, mashed potatoes, sugar cereals etc all slide right in thru the band. So basically all the crap you turn to when you eat emotionally, yep, that’s going to really go thru. And the stuff you should be eating is what you get stuck on. So if you are really honest with yourself and are a big time emotional eater, you need to deal with that first. That’s actually homework for ANY surgery. I’ll Also tell you what I told a friend. Start eating the “post op diet” now. Your portions may be larger but see what that post op diet is and eat that way now. You need to know if you can live with it before you have surgery. Lap band means NO carbonated drinks so get sodas, beer and fizzy drinks out of your diet now. All surgeries want you eating protein first, veggies and then any carbs last. Do it now. Can you be happy eating this way? If you’re a Diet Coke addict you may as well work that out of your life now and not in recovery when you’re dealing with everything else. Can you have the occasional champagne toast or piece of cake? Of course. But notice the word “occasional” meaning a wedding or birthday is an “occasion”. Tuesday or “I had a bad day” is not. If you eat that post op diet and feel like “oh, this is nice. I feel good” it will help bolster your decision. Maybe you will like eating your protein and then a veggie and feel like “nah, I don’t need mashed potatoes”. I know I did and it felt great!! But if the thought of not having soft drinks, or bread or drinking anything with your meal (lapband guidelines state don’t drink with your meal or for 30 min afterwards) makes you want to cry, then this isn’t the surgery for you. Can you be successful with the band? Sure! I did well for quite a while although I only lost 40 lbs. But the success cases I’ve seen have been from folks who really did their homework and got their heads right remember, they band your stomach, not your mouth. If you eat a whole bag of m&ms because you’re upset, the band can’t stop that.

Congrats to you and your husband! Wow, losing 6 stone and actually keeping it off with surgery alone is really a major accomplishment!!! He should be proud of himself. I have lost lots of weight in the past, but then I hit a wall and can't lose any more--get frustrated--and then after a while start to slip up. Once that happens, it seems like 2 or 3 months later all the weight is back and then some. I can't do this yo yo dieting any more---it's literally killing me. I really feel for you guys suffering through NHS process in the UK. Despite all of the current scientific data, the UK (and in other countries with socialized medical systems) huge demand for these procedures and not enough doctors available to perform them (nor the hospital capacity). So it all gets rationed out and they make the process hard that only a handful of people make it to the surgeon's table. It takes the average person that qualifies for bariatric surgery in the UK an average of over 2.7 years to get from the initial referral from the patient's GP to the surgery theater (as of 2016) and that's assuming you get through those arbitrary barriers to treatment once you get the referral to secondary care. Just to get your GP to give you a referral for secondary care requires you to jump through tons of hoops so you can document your weight loss attempts and lifestyle changes for the referral. In reality, you're talking a 5+ year process for most people in the UK, depending on whether you have a GP that is willing to spend the 10 minutes to write you a referral and not shame you for being fat (Imagine if they did that to someone that suffered from anorexia or some other eating disorder, much less someone with cancer or drug addiction). One study was completed in 2016 that tracked 22 people through the NHS process for bariatric starting in 2012 (all of whom qualified for surgery based on NICE and their regional guidelines). Of the 22 people that started the process, 12 ended up getting referred back to their GP (to start over) and only 6 received their surgery by the time the study was completed in 2016. Here's the study: https://academic.oup.com/jpubhealth/article/39/1/163/3065701 You really need to fight to get this life saving and life changing surgery. Fortunately, in May 2018, NICE updated its guidelines so that people that are recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and have a BMI over 35 should be fast tracked to surgery (which makes sense since the surgery could stop the progress of the disease before it causes any real harm). Unfortunately, getting expedited processing still could take a couple years before a patient can get on the list for surgery.

If you go full Keto by the book, you should lose 10 lbs by September 20.

I’ve had such a great recovery and I thank god for that. Drinking was hard week one but now I can drink no problem. I still don’t remember to take my vitamins everyday but I plan on getting the patches so it’s easier. I drink water when I can. I found these chobani low fat yogurt drinks they are amazing and 10 grams protein. The protein shakes gave me the runs so instead I try and drink 3 cups for 1% milk. Sf pops and jello. Oh and chicken broth is heavenly when your struggling to swallow. It gets better trust me.

I'm going for the sleeve (and I am over 300 pounds and shorter than you and also not male), because I need to be able to take NSAIDs and probably methotrexate for my arthritis. (Sometimes WLS clears up arthritis. That's why I'm seeking it, not the weight itself.) With the bypass, NSAIDs are off the table for, as I understand it, forever. And Tylenol does almost nothing for arthritis. (Also, I'm self-pay in the US, and the sleeve is less expensive; I have enough money in savings for the sleeve, but I do not have enough money for the bypass, I suspect--I didn't ask for a price, already having made up my mind. Also, the sleeve has a lower rate of complications. Not enough lower that that alone should be the deciding factor, but it certainly factored into my decision. The long-term difference in weight loss is only about 10% of excess weight, on average--50-60% for sleeve and 60-70% for bypass. I can live with that difference; it'll still be life-changing.) They'll know after they do the upper endoscopy whether you have GERD or not. I had a little damage on my esophagus, and they couldn't tell if it was esophagitis or GERD. (It may also have been due to the massive amount of NSAIDs I took for several years.) Since it was a small enough amount of damage, I'm still cleared for surgery and still planning on the sleeve; I'm just starting the PPI sooner than expected. I know they'll keep me on them for 3 months after surgery, but I'm OK with the fact that that could turn into a year or (I hope not) forever. Ultimately, everyone in this forum is going to be invested in their own choice, the same way that newly married people try to push all their friends to get married. (I can say that without getting in trouble. I'm married. ) We all had good reasons for what we picked, or maybe we didn't but now that we've picked it we need to believe it was the best possible choice. You probably knew that coming in. But just a reminder: this is up to you, and you've gotta do what seems right for your body, in consultation with your surgical team. 👍

honeymoon period is considered the first 6 months, I believe. I will be 4 months in a week and I am noticing a little bit of a slow down. I lost 28 pounds my first month, than 15 pounds a month for two and three. Looks like it will only be 10 pounds for month four.

I will spare you on the details but man what a night I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy! I am 4 weeks PO today from VSG revision. From about 11:30pm until about 4:30am, I was up every 5 to 10 minutes....I KID YOU NOT pissing out of my @ss. I am waiting for word from my surgeon's office in the mean time but I feel like I got hit by a truck. I suspect it's gastroenteritis because my husband is home sick passed out on the couch right now with similar symtoms. He had it all day yesterday. I know I need my nutrients to get back everything I lost but I can't even try to look at the blandest of the bland broth right now (baiatric pal protein chicken broth and beef broth). I have tolerated my vitamins and water but that's the limit. So I sit and and wait but I have a unrelated dr. appt in 45 mins I have to be at. Just gonna sip as much water as I can in the meantime! Perhaps pedialyte juice? Any suggestions?

Stupid question: I want to start tracking my macros, but i can’t find any bariatric specific macro calculators. Can anyone help me translate percentages and grams into calories please? T.i.a Goal is about 1,000 cals per day Protein 50%, carbs (10-25%), fats (25-40%) I can always re adjust if my protein calculations aren’t exact, i just need my protein to be at least 60g.

I had the lapband switched to the gastric bypass in March of 2012. My heaviest was 280. Now I am 113. My surgeon gave me a feeding tube which did nothing and hurt like hell. I have zero appetite. No food looks or tastes good to me anymore. I am always nauseous. I have zero energy, and some days cannot even get out of bed. Everything I eat makes me sick. My hubby and I try to find a pattern to what causes my dumping syndrome. But we are at a loss. The worst part is, I have a son who is going to be 5 next week. I am lucky to have lots of help w him from my mom and my hubby. But he sees how weak I am. I can’t keep up w him and take him to a park even. I cannot find much at all online about loosing too much weight. I only find about regaining. My bariatric surgeon’s answer to every complication I’ve had is to cut me open, again, and again and again. He’s done 6 surgeries on me (not including initial lapbad, and revision to bypass). I moved overseas to Israel last September and have been getting iron infusions twice a week. I haven’t felt a difference. Nothing helps. It’s a total mind f**k to go from 280 to 113. Als to go from so big to so small. Also to be told by all those around me to eat eat. How can I swallow food when I’m constantly nauseous? I’ve always struggled to keep all of the vitamins down. I throw them all up. Ive asked if I can do a vitamin drip, any alternative to oral vitamins. It’s hard. My Dr even prescribed me marinol, to stimulate my appetite and help with nausea. It’s generally given to chemo patients, didn’t help me at all. I feel No one understands. I Don’t even understand, It’s so very confusing. Any one else experience this? I feel if things don’t change I’ll be dead within 10 years. I’m 42 in a 65 year olds body. What upsets me most is how this affects my sweet little boy. He is old enough now to know and see and hear, that mommy is not well. I will never know all of the negative ways in which this probably already has and will continue to affect him. I have an appt with a bariatric nutritionist but, by now, I generally know more than they do. Any words of wisdom or advice would be greatly appreciated. Here are pics from size 28 to 00

Welcome to the thread!! I started in US 26-28 (had to order clothes online, could not find these sizes in actual stores) and now I’m about a US12, bought some size 10 (32 inch jeans) the other day. I have recent progress shots on the forum somewhere if you’re interested. There are lots of ladies here who are achieving amazing things. I can’t wait to see what we will all accomplish!

"I've already lost the weight, my mind is just waiting for my body to catch up." That was my mindset. For my testing phase, before my doctor would agree to have me as a patient, I had to lose at least 10 pounds over a 3-month period. Monthly weigh-ins, could not regain anything over what I'd weighed the month before. I did super the first month. Lost seven pounds. Felt great. And...celebrated. Went too far. A week from my second weigh-in and I was five pounds OVER what I had weighed in at for my first weigh-in. Uh-oh. I was worried. My schedule was very limited, if I had missed a mark I would have had to delay my surgery for a year. Took a hard week of crash-dieting and fasting to eek under my previous mark by one pound; I lost six pounds in a week. Decided, after that, NEVER AGAIN. I was DONE with the over-portioned junk food that had dominated my diet my whole life. "I've already lost the weight, my mind is just waiting for my body to catch up." That was my mantra. Still is. Never had trouble with myself after that. I've had plenty of years to abuse my body with food. There's too many other things I want to be able to do with my life other than sit and be fat.

Goo Steeelerrs! I am a huge Steelers fan, and I hope you are up to going! Like I said at 10 days you may be on top of the world! I was doing crazy things at 6-10 days that my Dr would not have approved of, like scrubbing all of our floors and walls in the house. Hey I was off work and felt great, but alas it did not last much longer as at 15 days I was dragging, but I only have myself to blame.

I'm a bit taller than the average woman, and there were times that I would have to buy tall pants to get the length I need, and they were often priced $2-3 more than the average length clothes. Now add plus size to the tall length, and it was often $5-10 more than an average size, even in my work clothes which happen to be scrubs, nothing special about them. I hated it but accepted that I was probably paying for the extra material. I always had to shop online to find the sizes I needed, they were rarely available in the stores, so add shipping on to that in some cases. (Side note here: has anyone noticed that you gain length in clothing when you lose weight? I don't always need to buy talls anymore, I think my clothes hang lower or something, so I can get away with the average inseams more often now.) I do most of the shopping for my family and it's definitely hard to find other than average sizes in the mens areas too, my husband and youngest son are just over 6 ft tall and it's near impossible to find a 36 inch length, everything stops at 34, so again, have to look online and wait to get them in the mail.

@lviz Did you break out of your stall? I seem to lose 1# per day for 3 days, then stall for 5 days, then lose again for 3 days, and stall for 5 days. After the first time when I freaked out so, I'm learning to roll with the punches, so to speak. When do you get to add more things to your food plan? I'm looking forward to Sep 10 when I start Stage 5 foods.

Hi! I'm in the pre op stage. My insurance needs to follow my process for six months for the surgery to get approved they also make me lose 10% of my body weight. I do not have any advice to give you but i wish you luck! Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using BariatricPal mobile app

I traveled at 7 weeks post op for business against my Dr's orders. I was ok but I would say it was not easy. I also think I paid a price for that trip. The weekend after coming home I had no energy. That said, at 10 days I do not think the effects of the surgery have hit you and I would have to say it depends on the stress of the travel you plan to do. You still feel pretty good at 10 days. I wanted to go back to work 5 days after my surgery, but my DR insisted I take 10 days with gastric bypass. It was the end of week 3 or beginning of week 4 before I felt the negative effects and I felt a lack of energy. I am now traveling every other week on business and I started that 10 weeks post op, but it still is not easy to travel and have a good routine and diet. I eat a lot of soup.

I am planning on going away for Columbus Day weekend which will be 10 days after my surgery. Is that unrealistic?

It really depends on a variety of things. My insurance made the approve/deny decision based upon initial weight at first visit with bariatric team - not my surgery day weight. Also, the sooner you get yourself into the right mindset - protein first, 100 grams of protein a day, no more than 10 grams of sugar in a serving of anything, the easier life will be after (at least it was for me.). My "class" (required to get the appointment with a surgical team) was in April 2016 and my surgery was on August 23. So I had 120-ish days before my surgery. My team required that I follow post-op rules for a pre-op diet to show that I was committed and making progress. My pre-op diet was one shake and two meals, under 1000 calories for 8 days prior to surgery. So, talk to your team to find out whether additional loss will be a problem for your approval. DO NOT ASSUME ANYTHING. I'm 2 years out in two days. I'm down almost 150 pounds from my starting highest estimated weight because I wouldn't get on a scale, but looking at photos I was over 300 in 2015. So please, talk to your team and get your head in the right place to eat the right way - the sooner you do the better your chances of success.

I found it! This isn't the exact source I remember (I think it was a fashion documentary on Netflix), but this will have to do. Not a bad source either, I suppose. The only downside is that this is a very dated source. For many women, finding the perfect dress or outfit is only half the battle. Then, it must be altered. Women frequently have to pay for such services, though basic alterations have commonly been provided to men at no charge. Stores and tailors say altering women's garments is generally more complicated than it is for men's. But Saks Fifth Avenue has begun providing basic alterations to skirts and dresses at no charge as part of a settlement of a sex-discrimination suit brought by two California women. Saks no longer charges to hem unlined and unpleated skirts, shorten or lengthen sleeves, take in or let out center and side seams in unlined garments and add shoulder pads to dresses. Previously, each of these services cost $12 to $18. https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/01/style/fashion-in-fitting-room-a-little-more-equality.html

Lunch turkey sandwich, Turkey, ryvita cracker, greenleaf lettuce, dijon mustard 150 cals 10-12 g protein, 8 g carbs I ate it all lol, obviously

OP, I don't know your stats, but unless you have a thyroid condition or other serious metabolic issue (like taking high doses of insulin for type 2 diabetes), you should be able to drop 10 pounds in a month. It sounds like the problem here is that the amount you are being asked to lose is small enough that you might have blown off the diet until the last minute (sort of like cramming for an exam back in high school). I know you can lose the weight in time. Hell, I can lose 20 pounds in a month in I have to (although I also know I would gain 25 back afterwards). In the end, the surgery is just a tool and you're going to have to make some major lifestyle changes anyway if you are going to keep all weight off even after surgery. Now is a good time to start as any, Think positively and start practicing for you post-op diet now. Try cutting your portions down. Use bread plates instead of big plates for your meals. After you're done with your meal (normal size portions on a small plate, which is at least half veggies)---wait 20 minutes before you you give yourself seconds. I am not telling you not to eat more, but think about whether you are really hungry and whether you really need to have that extra portion. Is that extra portion really going to be worth it when it comes time for your weigh in. It's all about mindful eating. If you need to snack, make sure you have healthy snacks available--fruit and veggies without fattening dressings. Cut your food into small pieces (don't wolf it down). Put your fork down after every bite and chew each bite 15 times. It's annoying at first, but you get used to it (and you're going to need to do it anyway post-op). Also, the key to losing weight is drinking lots of water over the course of a day (at least 64oz) [that's always a hard one for me, but if you just sip on a water bottle a every few minutes you can do it). I am not on my high horse or anything---I admit to being a food addict, binge eater and sneak eater. So, no judgments from me, but if you want this surgery that badly, you will commit 100% to losing 10 pounds in 4 weeks and you will make it happen!!

So I lost 11 lbs week one and 19 altogether with the pre op diet. But every time I step on the scale at my house it’s the same number. Has anyone experienced that? I go to the doctor tmrw and I’ll get a better weigh in but just worries me. I don’t want to start stalling early.

I'm going to be honest with you, not to scare you, but to prepare yourself for what might happen. Keep in mind that not everyone's experience is like mine. My surgery was just a few weeks ago. I am no stranger to surgeries and anesthesia, as this is my fourth. I woke up in the recovery room in sheer panic. I didn't notice pain, but I felt like I couldn't expand my lungs enough to breathe and I said so with my first breath. A nurse standing over me said, "you are doing fine, your oxygen saturation level is 98%. We'll put you back to sleep to give you a bit more time before we take you up to your room." And just about the time she finished saying that, I was out again, and don't remember waking up again until they were wheeling me down the hall and into the elevator. And I could breathe much easier then, though I still couldn't take breaths that were as deep as I wanted to breathe. I felt *much* better as the hours went on. Nurses told me that pain meds could cause nausea, so I refused them. Never even had Tylenol. And honestly, the pain was never above 3 out of 10, so I didn't miss them.