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DANG. That's A LOT of coffee. Is it decaf? Is this a first surgery for you? Mine's a revision from a 14-year-old sleeve. I was told to avoid coffee for like the first 2 months. I'm a coffee drinker too, but not as hardcore, lol! I'm going to try caffeine probably starting Monday, just to see if I tolerate it. Don't want any surprises at work. Are you getting in your calories and protein? Did you lose any weight before your surgery?

For me it was supposed to be 12 days on full liquids and then 2 days clear liquids right before surgery. My doc told me that if they opened me up and found any food in my stomach and/or gut, he'd cancel it and sew me back up! So, I wasn't taking any chances. He also wanted me to lose some weight prior to my surgery, so that also motivated me to start detoxing and dieting 4 weeks before I had to. I wasn't counting calories or anything on my semi-liquid diet, but I wasn't snacking either. I would control myself until dinnertime, lol. But I found that once you detox from carbs, it gets really easy to not crave them so much at all.

Well, I'm 14 months out from my sleeve and 2 weeks out from my sleeve to bypass revision (had horrendous gerd, esophagitis, gastritis, and a ton of pre-cancerous polyps). With my sleeve (and also what I will be doing with my bypass) I was at 90g protein per day, 30 carbs or less per day, 900-1000 calories per day when not working out and 1200-1300 calories per day when working out (I was going beast mode, tho), and 50g or less of fat per day. I did different work outs each day. 2 days I would do cardio, 2 days core and strength training, 2 days weight training, and 1 rest day. I would alternate what exercises I did when so my body never got used to what I was doing. If I noticed I was in a stall for 3 weeks or more, I would change up the intensity and actual exercises I did to confuse my body and break the stall. My fluid intake was always 64-76oz per day (zero sugar gatorade and/or flavored propel along with water on work out days, flavored water on non work out days). I lost 116 pounds in 10 months before everything went stupid and I had my complications and ended up needed my revision.

What's your calorie and carb intake? How far along are you? Sent from my SM-G975U using BariatricPal mobile app

What's your calorie and carb intake? How far along are you? Sent from my SM-G975U using BariatricPal mobile app

I'm wondering how long any of your stalls have lasted. I'm 25 days out of surgery (sleeve to bypass revision), and I'm still at the same weight from July 3rd. Literally, not a single decimal point down. Here's what my nutrition looks like: Calories-500, Protein-60g, Carbs-<40. I'm having an issue with fiber and constipation (1 bowel movement every other day), but yesterday I started using Benefiber packets. I also ordered some protein shakes that have 4g fiber and some that have 10g fiber. Since I start work August 8th, I won't have time to eat an actual breakfast, so I'm planning on using the protein shakes in place of my coffee in the mornings. Ideas? Suggestions? Advice?

I did not realize this but these low calorie and very low carb diets can cause dehydration (something about water hangs out with the carbs in your blood, less carbs means less fluid). So I felt like crap until I realized that and upped my water intake. Good luck!

You will be able to eat anything like normal! However, you have to be careful about what you choose to eat! Read lablels and track the food you eat in an app. I like the baritastic app. Once you see how many calories you ate from the loaded mashed potatoes, it will make you think about eating them again! It's not worth it to go back to the old habits we all had that got us into this obese predicament! Stay strong and resist the temptations, you can do it!!!

So I just had this revision, and I can tell you that the weight loss will not be like it was with the sleeve. I had it because I developed GERD, esophagitis, gastritis, and a TON of pre-cancerous polyps all through my stomach. So I also didn't have a choice. I was on 80mg daily of Nexium and still had break through GERD. With the sleeve, I lost 30 pounds in the first 2 weeks. With the revision, I lost 14. I also wasn't interested in doing it for weight loss, since I was chugging along and doing well until it all went stupid. My goal was to get back to living my life, get back to my beast mode work outs, get back to feeling good and not having pain. And that's what the surgery is doing for me. Losing additional weight is inevitable, but eating the stuff you're eating right now is not the way to add additional weight. The sugar and heavy carbs are a no no, especially once you have the bypass. Keep in mind, the more weight you add on now, the more you'll lose. If you really feel the need to try and pad your weight a little, do it by adding additional protein, add in an additional meal or 2 snacks (but don't make them junk). Increase your calories, not your carbs and sugar. Again, I'm not saying this is what you should be doing, but if you're determined to add weight on before the surgery, at least do it in a healthier way than what you're doing now. I can also say, the recovery from the bypass has been SO SO much better than with the sleeve. I honestly wish I had just done the bypass to begin with. So much less pain, I was up and around faster, able to do things better, could handle my pills and supplements (had to crush or completely eliminate them with the sleeve for the first 4-5 weeks), able to handle cold liquids (couldn't with the sleeve), able to get my fluids in so much easier (I drank a 20oz of water in the hospital the day after my surgery and could barely handle 3-4oz with the sleeve). So all in all, I'm exceptionally happy I did the revision. No more GERD, no more PPI, no more pain, much easier recovery, and while the weight is still coming off, it's doing so at a slower and more manageable pace. I wish you all the luck, and I promise you'll feel so much better after the revision.

I had my surgery on March 13th, exactly four months ago. At this point, I’ve only lost 32lbs (25 since surgery), which I am totally bummed about. Unlike others, my hunger returned almost immediately. But I have a ton of energy and am able to do so many things I couldn’t do easily before. My clothes fit and I feel more like myself. The down side… My weight loss seems to be dependent on everything being perfect each day (right amount of water, zero sugar, low carb, high protein, high fiber, can’t be sick or injured), which is not easy to do. Even at a calorie deficit, I’m not losing like I should be. Thankfully, of the weight I’ve lost, 19lbs was pure fat. I’ve only lost 2.5lbs of muscle. This is great news and has helped me transition back to the gym over the last few weeks. My heartburn didn’t go away. I actually need to be on omeprezole daily (sometimes twice per day), which is more of an annoyance than a problem. Two weeks ago, right on schedule, my hair started falling out. It’s been traumatic even though I knew it was very likely to happen. When your hair falls out but your weight loss is at a halt, it feels awful. Like what am I doing this for? I know the answer but in my “feel sorry for myself” moments, that’s the question I hear in my head. My body has been changing, and I can see where my skin was stretched out now in the strangest places. This and the hair loss has led to a spike in emotional eating. I’m sure that’s why I’ve been stalled the last 2-3 weeks. Sigh. I feel like a bit of a failure. At the end of the day, I wouldn’t change my decision. I just feel like the first six months are critical and I can’t seem to take advantage of them like I want to. Has this happened to you? Did you still make it to your goal? Any thoughts welcome 🙏

so @GreenTealael's dessert pic got me jonseing for some baked goods, so when i walked by a specialty grocery store, i went in, high-tailed to the bakery and picked up these two beauties: a chocolate peanut butter butter tart and a lemon square! came home and cut out a quarter of each one to try. Verdict: the butter tart was like a 7/10. the filling was awesome, but the pastry was just a little too flaky for my taste. the lemon square was a bit of a fail. not nearly as lemon-y as it should've been. i rate it a 4/10. i only took one bite, but i should've taken a nibble instead, i feel like i just ate a bunch of unenjoyable and unworthy calories! 202 calories for the servings. just left a bit of the lemon square.

Same here my original surgery was supposed to be on April 26th. I've lost 22 pounds since my heaviest from following the preop diet before. About 2 weeks before I freaked out and cancelled. Too many people were telling me not to do it, horror stories and I barely had any support. This time I have not told anyone I'm doing it yet except for my sister and best friend. My pre op isn't as restrictive, they didn't give me a set calorie count and liquid starts 2 days before surgery. I did keto diet on my own before this from 2019-2020 and lost 90 pounds naturally, but I gained it back when I met my significant other and went off that diet. I feel like i dont like to exercise so that worries me and haven't found the motivation to start. I keep telling myself it's not important for weight loss and I'll do that x amount of weeks before or after the surgery. It doesn't help that my significant other isn't really supportive. They are worried for me and is the type that if I say I'm depressed and start crying about the surgery, instead of talking me thru it and saying it will pass, they will start crying too 🤣🤣, blame themself for not stopping me, say they dont want to see me suffer and convince me I'm not ready to do it and they won't be able to stand seeing me suffer after. Although I know it's good intentioned again, I need someone who's not as soft. I should be able to say I'm feeling depressed about it without them being the one that gets sad and emotional, I'm the one that should be sad lol. Last time was the second time I cancelled the surgery after going thru all of the motions. Now I'm telling myself third time is the charm and the office is going to think I'm nuts if I keep freaking out and canceling then saying just kidding the next week 🤣🤣

You nailed it about the “mind hunger.” I didn’t have it as much with the original bypass, probably because those no-no foods felt uncomfortable and/or I dumped, always out the back way. It took almost 2 years to be able to eat the bad stuff. After what turns out to be Part 1 of my revision surgery, it took a lot less, plus I don’t dump. I spoke with my surgeon to say that I wasn’t sure the Argon zapping was working, and she told me that the revision process takes several surgeries and that I should have been contacted by their obesity management team and scheduled for the next procedure. They’re working on scheduling that for August, and I’m in contact with the team. She also suggested calorie counting, as well as some of those online weight management sites like Noom. It’s as much about how you think of food and realizing why you overeat. I was getting therapy, but it was once a month, and I don’t think it really helped.

I used dark chocolate in mine to limit the sugar. And also used sugar free maple syrup. My flour was carbalose flour. My protein only has 3g sugar a serving and 110 calories, so this ended up being a great snack to leave in the fridge. Cookie dough recipe 16oz container of cottage cheese 1/4 cup maple syrup 2 tsp vanilla 2 cups almond flour(or preferred flour) 1/2-2/3 cup protein powder of choice 1 cup chocolate chips Blend the cottage cheese, syrup and vanilla till it looks like yogurt, then mix in the rest. Adjust to taste.

I had decided to only get on the scale once a week, I didn't want to be that person that gets on the scale every day and gets discouraged during a stall. My usual doctors appointments are on Thursdays (for some reason) so I decided that Thursday's would be the day. I have a lot of stuff going on tomorrow so I decided to get on the scale a day early. Last Thursday, I had my first post-op appointment with my doctor and had lost 46lbs since entering the program and 22lbs since surgery. I got on the scale this morning and have since lost 9lbs! I went from 339lbs last week to 330lbs this week, bringing me to a total of 55lbs lost since entering the program and 31lbs since surgery. This past week, I've focused mostly on trying to get my fluids in, mostly drinking water and the occasional Gatorade Zero. I never really cared for water so it's shocking how much of it I'm drinking now. For the most part this week, I've eaten scrambled eggs, grits, cream of wheat, hummus, refried beans, and mashed potatoes. I mistakenly ate the potatoes a bit earlier than I was supposed to, but I haven't had any issues with them, so figured they must be okay. I'm not 100% proud of it, but the mashed potatoes came from KFC.. 😬 I've still done pretty good though, regardless! I'm still trying to get as much protein from drinking the shakes as I can. I get roughly 20oz a day from the shakes which is around 2 whole bottles, so somewhere around 60g of protein. I'm taking my vitamins every day as well. As best as I can figure, my calorie intake is probably somewhere around 500-600/day (this is just a rough estimate, the protein shakes alone are about 300.) I have gotten dizzy a time or two, which I've read is normal and at times, I get ridiculously itchy on my back and stomach, but it's not too bad. I tried to fix it with Benadryl but it didn't work. I did get one hell of a good nights sleep though, so there's that! I feel a lot better than I did pre-surgery. I still have a long way to go, but I'm feeling really great and only have 30lbs to go until I'm back into the 200's!

Could be your body adjusting to the lower calorie intake or withdrawal from sugar, carbs, caffeine. Check with your medical team to be sure. You’ll likely experience this again after surgery for a while as well as lethargy & low energy while you’re healing & consuming less.

Spoke to my nutritionist. He made a number of suggestions, including having some warm broth to "prime the pump." He wasn't bothered by the idea of dark meat (Ala the turkey leg, deboned and stripped of skin, that led to my frothing/foaming). So, today, for lunch, we went to a good local Japanese fish house- had Miso soup, which I rarely order, some seaweed salad and a few pieces of fatty tuna sashimi. Wonderful, no problem. He also said that lean meat in the red meat department can be a problem. Which isn't an issue for me, because my favorite steak is a ribeye, bone in, and my favorite part of that steak is the rib-eye cap, which is basically stripped of all fat and binding before preparing. Not sure I'm quite ready for that, and I'll probably only have a few bites, but as I add to my selection of foods to eat, I'm getting happier! Yay! Last night, I made chicken sueng (the chicken with chopped up scallion, water chestnuts, normally wrapped in lettuce. I didn't wrap it but had a little romaine on the side, along with peas as a side dish. I think I'm still well under my calorie limit and taking my supplements. Glad to report that enjoying real food is actually possible!!!

I have a sleeve so this might not be directly relevant but do you know, of all the food types I can eat most pizza. Volume wise, calorie wise, protein wise, whatever. I can PACK that stuff in, whereas I have to budget for sushi, burgers, fries, whatever. Please do not worry unless you plan to do what you did today every day. In that case all might be lost. As a one-off it's totally doable. Welcome to your new life OP. 😍

Hi everyone! I’m 2 weeks post sleeve surgery. I’ve lost 11 lbs which is great and less than I expected. With an average 300 calories per day I thought the number would be higher. Im staying positive and I’m grateful to be rid of those 11 lbs!! I’m starting the purée diet and appreciate all tips on how to manage the texture. I’ve had some dumping and from what I’ve read it’s from eating too fast and maybe the sugar in my vanilla protein powder (5mg). I wasn’t expecting this! I appreciate your support!!

digging through the freezer for something to eat and found some chicken pot pies i made a while back and froze for future use. 2 mins in the microwave to defrost, then 10 mins in the toaster oven to crisp up the crust. still as good as the first time, lol. ate 1/2 for approx 322 calories.

Just responding to my own post to have everything in one place. General Down almost 60lbs after surgery on May 18th. No complications. I followed the rules exactly on the diet, but continued to push the exercise because that's my personality. In fact, I would say I've become a little obsessive with the exercise, walking/running/biking everyday. I have also experienced a lot of ups and downs since the surgery. Food The first week after surgery I was fine with the limited clear liquids, however, near the end of the first week I was sick and tired of the clear liquids. The second week was the same. First part of the week was good because of new liquids, but near the end of the second week I was sick of the limitations. Basically I was excited every time I got new foods, and was sick of it by the end. This was not so much because I was having cravings for fatty or sugary foods, I just needed variety. Now I'm opened up to try whatever I want, except carbonation. I'm still not trying bread, but have had really small tastes of pasta (really small) or eaten really small keto tortillas without issue. I'm still keeping a daily log of all food eaten and hitting my macros on most days. I'm really focusing on my protein (100+ grams a day; I've really been aiming for 130+ grams, but it's tough) intake as I don't want to lose any more muscle. I do notice that I get the hiccups when I'm full. Sometimes my nose runs when I'm full as well. I did get the "slimes" once. I was trying to eat a breakfast taco on the keto tortilla and I guess it was too dry. I only got half down (the tortillas are only about 3.5 inches across; really small) and it felt like it was stuck. So what do you do when food is stuck, DRINK! That was a mistake. Got the slimes and eventually threw up. That's the only time that has happened. Fortunately, it was like 5 weeks after surgery, but I was worried I had done something to my stomach. Went out to eat with the family a week ago and tried ghost pepper wings (which I'm normally fine with). I also put ghost pepper hot sauce on my refried beans, without issue. The spicy wings did not go well. It was much spicier than normal and I ended up drinking water and almost threw up. Prior, I had eaten 3 wingstop wings with blue cheese and was fine (mango habanero). We went out to dinner again last night and I had a few bites of salad, about 2 ounces of chicken breast with BBQ sauce and a few bites of sweet potato and was stuffed. I used to get a 16 ounce ribeye with mushrooms and onions, mashed potatoes, veggies and a couple of tall beers. I did not feel like I was missing out, which feels kind of weird. My kids got a dessert and I wasn't interested in it. Sugar free popsicles taste really good and are almost too sweet now. I was really worried about eating out (what I was going to eat; how it was going to go, etc). I feel more comfortable now for when we go out with friends. Bonus, I have saved a TON of money on food and alcohol. Like a crazy amount. I did have a glass of bourbon on the rocks last week. Drank it slow and it went down just fine. Zero issues. I'm not going to start drinking though, and will just stick to an occasional drink. Exercise I started walking very soon after surgery, 10K steps a day, and pushed it too far too early. I dialed it back for the first two weeks, but then picked it back up. Now I either walk for 15K+ steps a day or ride the bike for an hour. Every day. I get a more intense workout on the bike plus it's better on my joints. Walking seems to hurt my hips and back, but I'm powering through. I'm going to a physical therapist on Thursday to try to figure that out. As I said above, I'm definitely obsessive about my exercise. Sometimes to the point where I wear myself out and am exhausted for the rest of the day. Some of that is a mix of the intense exercise and limited calorie intake. I've also told myself that I was not going to obsess about the scale and I was only going to weigh once a week, because the weekly/monthly trend is the only thing that matters (my weight fluctuates up and down daily, but trends down weekly/monthly). However, I find it really difficult to avoid weighing myself multiple times a day. I'm obsessed with the scale as well. Mood Overall, I'm OK. Weight loss is really good. Hit a couple of short stalls. No complications, but my mood is really up and down, which is not normal for me. So much so, that I have scheduled an appt with a therapist next week (first time in my life). The doldrums are real, especially after VSG, so take care of yourselves, physically and mentally. Meds I'm completely off my BP meds and it's currently averaging 120/80. I have GERD with a history of Barrett's Esophagus, and I'm currently taking 40mg omeprazole daily. I was really worried about it getting worse after surgery, but I have had zero issues. I have a follow up appt with my VSG doc next week and I'm going to see if I can test 20mg. I would love to get off all meds. I tried the barimelts at the suggestion of my doctor, and they were OK the first couple of days. Then they totally grossed me out. I mean, like I was about to vomit and dreaded taking them every day. I only made it about a week before I gave up. I'm back on regular vitamins for now and tolerating them just fine. I'm going to ask the doc about that next week as well. Misc Because of the connective tissue disorder, my shoulders are really messed up. My right one especially. I'm glad it's not affecting my exercising. I just saw an orthopedic and she described my shoulder as "gnarly". Reverse shoulder replacement is in my future, but in the meantime, I'll have it scoped for labrum and rotator cuff repair, plus Bankart repair with the remplissage procedure. I am looking forward to relief from the chronic pain, but not the recovery. I hear it is brutal. TLDR Wished I would've had the surgery sooner. Plan for some ups and downs. Follow the plan. Take care of yourself. Don't be afraid to ask for help.

Stalls are super frustrating! I am currently in that 3-4 week stall myself but I came across an interesting article regarding WHY it happens. Basically, your body is trying to figure out its new normal. During the low calorie liquid and puréed stage during the first 4-5 weeks, your body has gone from burning things like carbs for energy to burning fat. But during this process you had to burn through your glycogen stores as well. (Glycogen also holds a lot of water which is why we can get dehydrated even though we are drinking a lot of fluids). Our bodies are trying to find our new normal in what to burn for energy and our fluid levels are equalizing which can keep the number on the scale the same or even climb. I have a scale that gives me my water, fat and muscle composition and during this time, I am losing fat, gaining water and muscle and the scale hasn’t changed in 13 days and knowing that my body is adjusting really helped me relax. My blood pressure also dropped enough to stop my blood pressure meds!!! Be kind to yourself, give yourself good foods, drink as much water as you are able and get your movement in. As others have said here, this is a marathon, not a quick fix. Hugs to all!

AlaniNu's vanilla is pretty great and it's lower in calories than a lot of other popular shakes.

I never try to cut the calories on homemade foods because when I cook it’s usually so bare bones (I even added olive oil to this recipe). However, I’m always completely shocked when I calorie check the foods after I eat them 😂.

Yea, I dont "count" fat either. But, it helps cut the calories so naturally I am just lower fat.. myself too.. its not soo bad. HAHA