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I added my measuring tape to the collection of items I'm gathering for the hospital when I read your post! It IS getting really close and I'm definitely feeling it. I did get pretty moody a couple of times this week, honestly. I don't know why, because I didn't really feel hungry but I did feel very reactionary and super sensitive. In fact, I was (and still am a little.. ) worried that it was PMS because I read that women who swiftly go on the type of liquid low carb / no sugar diet can have a change in their cycle. My brain immediately went "Oh Noooooo what if I have to deal with cramps on surgery day?!" So far I'm just crossing my fingers against that being the case, and hoping my body at LEAST waits a week! It feels surreal for me because I haven't been apart from my fella hardly at all in the two years we've been together and I realized tonight is the last night for a few days that I'll get to sleep beside him. Because of travel and work he isn't going to be with me at the hospital but my Mom and good friend will. It's Saturday night and I'm scheduled to be at the hospital around 5am Monday! I head out of town tomorrow evening. I'm holding strong on not smoking and plan to do my very best to maintain that post-op! I've already noticed, from not smoking and from the diet, my taste buds changing. The drink mix I used to really enjoy (A cheap one, surprisingly, zero sugar Hydrate in Grape flavor sold at Dollar General for like 1.20/6 flavor packs) now tastes kinda gunky. I'm not sure if it is because of all the shakes or just the lack of sugar/carbs. I find myself rinsing my mouth out a lot, especially after the shakes, and even though I'm drinking a lot of water my throat still feels dry from time to time, especially at night. I've started drinking my water plain or with a little lemon in it, which is especially nice when I drink it hot. I don't enjoy my coffee sweet or creamy anymore, either - it feels like 'too much'. Not that I have more than one cup, max, of caffeinated coffee per day - I even purchased a 3 in one coffee pot that takes loose leaf tea, pods, and regular coffee for the sake of my Mom and fella. I'm not entirely surprised at the change in taste buds seeing as when I quit drinking soda and would take a sip after a long time it would taste awful (especially any kind of dark colored soda). Oh - and to follow up on the Colace; I do think my doctor's office made me start the colace with my liquid diet BECAUSE of all the protein, especially in the shakes. I'm pretty sure those do slow your digestion; I've actually found myself taking an extra allowed laxative just because I want to be sure they have as much space to operate as possible and I feel like I've remained borderline constipated. My friend said that she didn't have a BM until 4 days post-op and they were concerned about that. I keep editing this post realizing I forgot to add things -- I SO feel you on the use of public restrooms! I've always done pretty well to avoid having to go #2 at public places and what you described happening - noise, smell, makes me nervous. That's really the ONLY side effect of the SADI that I'm a little concerned about. So far I'm telling myself that since I've been running on the side of constipated it should be ok, especially if I am mindful with my diet. It was really cool to see a post here from someone 4 years post-SADI! That was very reassuring, about being able to eventually eat most of the same foods, but in moderation and in much smaller portions. This might be my last update prior to surgery as tomorrow I plan to do last minute laundry and triple check my instructions, but I'll definitely be checking in as soon as I feel up to it to tell everyone how it went! How exciting is it to see this thread starting to pop with activity?! I feel SO lucky to have found this place and be receiving so many tips and insights from others who have / are going through the same things! Best wishes to all, we got this!!

I am only 6months out and I eat more than the average sleever..so my doc told me. I also workout 6 days a week and am active. I cannot eat 1.5C of food. if I want to add a veg or carb to a meal then I will eat 2C of protein and then some veggies and if I have room like 1-2 TBLS of carbs. I eat around 1200-1300 calories but my protein is around 130-150g. I fear that I have stretched out my sleeve but I never eat to being full. ok ok maybe once or twice. but I don't feel sick or miserable just like I might eaten too fast. Anywho, For lunch today I made a jalapeno chicken salad with bacon bits and I was able to eat 4oz of that with 1/2 bag of quest chips. and I am good for about 2-3hours. So I think that equates to .5C? its a constant worry I think for all of us to not mess this up. I know for me I fear that I will wake up and be 300lbs again and that fear makes me stop eating shi&&y. I think my comment mightve been a tangent...Ill get off my soap box LOL

Hello everyone - checking in and feeling kind of lousy post morning routine - as I seem to sometimes feel for about an hour after every 'meal'. I'm sure this will get easier with time; I hate this puree stage though and I hate not being able to drink 30 mins before and after meals! Everything wants to stick on its way down. Ugh. So - #1 - Protein powder! My nutritionist suggested an unflavored protein powder called Genepro. It's even lactose, GMO, and gluten free. I ordered it on Amazon this morning. The description states it can even be used in place of flour and that it should be mixed with room temperature fluids before being added to other items. So - I'm going to give it a try. It's only 11g of protein per serving but if coupled with protein rich foods like ricotta, low fat cottage cheese, or zero sugar yogurt I think it just might do the trick to help me meet my protein goals. Here's hoping! @draikaina8503 - Oh my gosh, my heart goes out to you and your sweet, confused furbaby! That sounds absolutely AWFUL. I'm so terribly sorry you ended up in that pain as a result of an overly eager, loving pup. I hope you managed to bring it back down to a tolerable level and that no long term damage was done! I know that I slept terribly last night between two doses of Milk of Magnesia working their way through my system, having heartburn, and the tugging/sharp pain that would shoot up from my left side in a brief flare when I moved wrong. I did some research and I'm pretty sure what I'm experiencing is from the stitch they used to keep my stomach 'in place' and that it will loosen some over time. I'm trying to work on posture and wanted to let you know I got to thinking of what other people have mentioned on here and thought of that pillow you talked about being given! I hugged my own round support pillow against my abdomen at one point finally and *poof* relief. So, thank you, again!! So today is surgery day, I believe, for @Averdra and @caseyash30 - Bidding you both the best of experiences and hopefully minimally painful recoveries! Remember, walk walk walk, ask for ice, and sip SO slowly. Be cautious about laying at any kind of incline until after you've had a good burp or two, or at least 'feel' the fluid trickle down! The posture you're in when you sip can make a HUGE difference - try to put your shoulders back and keep your spine as straight as you can manage - it helps! I strongly suggest staying ahead of your pain, and also staying ahead of constipation! If you get to day TWO with no bowel movement, take a dose of Milk of Magnesia - especially if you're also taking narcotics! (Obviously with doctor's ok! ) Also, your date must be coming up, @Ladygrey, I'm guessing? Sorry if I missed you posting the date! How are you doing, @Justarwaxx ? You're about a week out now, I believe? @Farhad - Also sending you the best and wonder if you're at purees yet? (I may have missed a post!) I also wanted to toss a message out there to @Mandalynne ! Maybe I've missed your posts, but you had your surgery on the 14th, right?? How you doing over there? I hope the Finch is still helping you out! I have my water goals on there and also assigned myself the task 3x day to do my Baritastic app entries, as well as take my vitamins (separate from also taking my Calcium since I can't take the Iron & Calcium together) I would absolutely be at a loss without that app and am SO grateful it's free. Let me know if you want to add me on there - it doesn't share personal information but lets your added 'Friends' send and receive cute little good vibes from your Birb. Only mentioning in case you didn't know, a friend had to tell me and once I started interacting with friends my dopamine boosts went up tremendously because I wanted to be able to dress up my Birb to go visit others. I'm so sorry if I missed responding to you in the chaos - I'm curious how your pain management is going and if you found an alternative to narcotics for your recovery? I'm in a limbo state myself with pain management right now - I have chronic pain conditions that were previously treated with an opioid by my primary care doctor but even though I stretched what was given to me by my surgeon I'm having trouble managing my chronic pain plus recovery. I thought of you and your question as I'm trying to mainly handle things with Tylenol myself right now, and lots of ice packs. It's rough and I agree - this is probably one of the hardest things I've EVER done. Welcome, @RRenaeL23, and congratulations on your surgery! How are you doing now? Are you still on liquids? How goes the pain / protein / fluid goals? Good job on denying yourself the fruit - you might pick up some sugar free popsicles to help when those cravings hit in case you don't always feel up for a walk! Also - I haven't taken the time to update my tag in quite a while, either, and I really need to. Oh well, limited chair time still for me! I'll get to it! That's all from me for now - thinking of you all, whether I tagged you here or not! I tried to do another recap of the thread from top to bottom and apologize for not having taken the time in this post to respond to everyone I've missed along the way. I'm working on it!

Off to see The Pet Shop Boys! I’m a massive fan and it’s the final week of their world tour with a special 5 nights finale at the ROH. Whilst we’ve had a wander around Covent Garden previously, we’ve never been to the ROH so a whole new experience just for that alone 😊

I had the sleeve 3.5 years ago and just had a revision to SADI a week ago today so I can answer for the sleeve and the “bypass type” procedure. With one thing to note. I also had my gallbladder taken out this time but it sounds like you would be the one to ask how much of my pain is due to that. 1. I have dentures will the rapid weight loss effect how they sit in my mouth? Does not apply to me 2. What are some of the best Protein Shakes out there in order to ensure I get the Protein I need? Premier Protein is a popular one If you like iced coffee the caffe latte is excellent but it does have caffeine and a lot of surgeons will have you off caffeine at least for a short time if you love your iced “proffee” though try mixing their caramel with decaf instant coffee and having that over ice it’s yummy too beyond that I prefer core power protein shakes by fairlife. Many people love the chocolate and say even their kids drink them as chocolate milk. I prefer the vanilla and their strawberry banana. I also like protein water for the liquid diet when you sorta get your full of shakes The Protein 2.0 in strawberry watermelon is pretty good . All of these are sold at Walmart. The premier protein is cheaper in the bigger packs but is sold in 4 packs and the core power is sold up front in singles and surprisingly it’s cheaper that way . The protein water I think only comes in 12 packs though . I would check a couple convenience stores for it first if you just want one to try. 3. How long were you down after surgery? How long until you started driving again? The biggest thing that will determine this will be whether you are on pain meds. After my sleeve I refiused pain meds even in the hospital but what I learned after my revision is that the most painful part for many is the trapped gas . After my sleeve I had no gas at all and I went home the next day on Tylenol. I could’ve driven right away if I had to. But I just got lucky because plenty of people with sleeve do have gas and incision pain. Post revision, I had a lot of gas pain and ended up staying 5 days starting off on morphine and oxy every two hours because the pain was horrible. Finally on day 4 I passed gas and realized that was the majority of my pain. Each subsequent toot brought more and more relief and I had about 7 big ones that one morning which I joke and say were life changing. I was able to cut back to just the one pain med less often and in a smaller dose immediately. Spent one more night and went home with normal post op pain script which I took one pill before I realized that the pain was mostly when I got up and down and the pain meds didn’t do much for that anyways and I wanted to be able to drive so I said I was gonna just take it at night but I forgot and then realized it was just silly to take it if I made it without. I did drive without issue on post op day 6 but honestly I did feel pretty fatigued and just wanted to get home. Some people are at a whole other extreme though and they do have a great deal of pain even after they are home and it lasts a lot longer. Long story short I can tell you my experiences but unfortunately no one can really predict this because it is honesty all over the map. 4. Did you have a person helping you with after care and if so, how long? Just my husband both times who is quite possibly the worst nurse ever. Didn’t need much of anything the first time except for things that require lifting, bending and straining this time I did need him to go and get things for me a little more. They want you up at least every two hours walking to prevent blood clots though so as long as something is within reach you can get it yourself. 5. I am disabled due to a nerve disorder; Is there anyone here who has a disability that has gotten the sleeve and how was your recovery? This does not apply to me BUT I know that a lot of diseases and disorders resolve some of completely with weight loss so this is certainly something to ask a surgeon about.

Throwing my anecdotal experience in the ring here, as well! I had a Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (VSG) at the end of November 2023. I was a "slower loser" the whole time, and then I hit a major stall about 6 months post-op, just bouncing around the same ~5ish pounds for months. I set up an appointment with my team for July 8th, discussed the issues I was having (mainly just being hungry and therefore eating larger portions), compared the different options, and we settled on trying out Phentermine. I did have to have a mobile heart monitor for 30 days prior to my surgery, as I had these weird heart "flutters" for YEARS and nobody could really figure out what they were (they ended up being PACs, or Premature Atrial Contractions, which apparently almost everyone has at some point and most people can't feel. I'm just unlucky! They are benign if they are not occurring in excess). My team had me do an EKG in-office that day, as well. They asked about any family history of heart issues, sudden death at early ages, etc. With a normal EKG, I was started on half of a 37.5mg tablet for 4 days, to increase to a full tablet after that if there was still residual hunger and I didn't have any major side effects. They said I'd know within those first few days if it was going to cause any issues. I did increase to the full 37.5mg after 4 days, and I've broken the stall (dropped 5lbs since July 8th, and part of that was spent at a music festival with few healthy food options), and I feel generally great! I do also have ADHD and Narcolepsy, so the stimulant properties are helpful for me. I'm feeling satisfied with much smaller portions and not experiencing cravings at all. I did have some mild insomnia the first few days, BUT I am already a night owl with a bit of insomnia due to the Narcolepsy, so it wasn't a big issue. Other comorbid conditions include depression and anxiety, which I am taking medication for, as well. The anxiety has not been exacerbated, which WAS an issue I had with previous stimulant use for Narcolepsy. Cost-wise, it ended up being roughly $7 USD with insurance. For me, trying Phentermine is definitely worth it, and I will follow up with my team later next month to see where I'm at. I had feared I was done losing after only 6 months post-op, and Phentermine has restored my hope that I can keep going to get to a healthier weight. It's important to remember that, while Phentermine will decrease your appetite, it does NOT cause you to burn any more calories than normal unless you also increase your activity. You have to decrease your portions - the Phentermine just makes it easier to do that, if it works as intended. So, your personal experience may vary, but it's worth discussing with your team if you feel stuck! EDITED TO ADD: My team said that I need to take a break from using it daily about once a month (like, not take it for a couple of days), otherwise I'll develop a tolerance and it won't work as well. This is pretty typical for stimulant medications in general.

Hello everyone, and happy Sunday! I'm feeling quite a bit better now that my body finally evacuated what was bothering it. I'd kind of forgotten about the Milk of Magnesia I'd purchased, and yesterday it came to my rescue. Those protein shakes (30g) are no joke, especially if you're taking any medication that slows your digestion further. Yesterday afternoon, even after getting past the constipation, my body just wasn't feeling like much intake, either liquids or 'food'. I found myself getting full after only an ounce of the chicken noodle soup broth and a few teaspoons of yogurt. I struggled for the first time getting my fluids in; I think I had gotten lax about the sip-sip-sip method and maybe was trying to drink too much at once when I drank. It's definitely hard to resist the urge to go back to gulping, especially when the beverage it cold and satisfying, and I feel dry mouth creeping in. Tomorrow is technically my puree day but I skipped ahead just slightly to try to move away from those heavy protein shakes. I realized I'm very sensitive to the texture of my scrambled egg and had to recook it, pre-mixed with about a half tablespoon of skim milk, and instead of the butter he'd initially tried I just used a very light splash of olive oil. That gave me the light, moist scrambled egg I was looking for. I reread my book and while it suggested you might want to start with just egg whites I just couldn't make myself hold to that. I am trying to get better about spacing out the 'not drinking 30 mins before/after' now that I'm beginning to eat some actual food. That's a very hard thing to do, honestly, because I'm noticing that no matter how much I chew without a drink the food just feels kind of stuck in my throat for a bit. I can see now why my friend said she found drinking a broth type soup in the morning 'primed' her stomach for the day. @draikaina8503 & @Pepper_No_Salt - How are you two feeling? I hope that your surgeries went smoothly. @Pepper_No_Salt I'm glad you can mix in some variety with additives to your plant based shakes - I was close enough to losing my mind during the pre-op diet so I think that being limited further would have driven me over the edge! I'm going to look up that PB2 you mentioned because I'm curious about it! (Back to you, @draikaina8503 , just saw your post-op post!) Oh my gosh I hate that your body did that to you RIGHT before your surgery. Mine at least gave me two days I'm very glad they kept you at least another night! I hope they are helping you keep your pain managed. Yeah; it will definitely take some walking to get that gas pain to leave but in the mean time don't be shy in asking for those ice packs and your pain medication! Sometimes managing the pain, then walking with the ice pack is the only way to work it out - at least that was my experience, and I've heard the same from a few others. Thinking back, one thing I wish I'd done while in the hospital was be a BIT more squeaky - I remember now that when my Mom was in the hospital I had to shove a bunch of pillows behind her back when I put the hospital bed up at an incline so she could get a good enough angle in bed to safely sip liquids. I think that would have helped me tremendously, because I relegated myself to using their recliner a lot just so I could be upright, and it didn't work very well AT ALL. Hope you're starting to feel better! (Coming back to you @Pepper_No_Salt since I now see your post-op post!) : Oh my gosh I feel you on the cold drink thing! I was a bit grumpy when I asked the nurse at my 10 day post-op and she casually said, "Oh, room temperature is mainly just the first few days because foods of extreme temperatures CAN cause uncomfortable cramping'. My fella covered his mouth to hide his snort of understanding at the look I gave him, having had to hear me whine off and on for ten days about how I'd give anything for a COLD drink of something. Figuring out the sips is tricky. They gave me little medicine cups that hold about an ounce and for me, sipping one of those 2-3 times felt about right at first. I'm sure this is another one of those things that depends on the person. I also alternated one ounce of gatorade/proper (they had brought me a kiwi watermelon that elicited heartburn, the berry was ok if I went slow - Also weirdly orange gatorade zero goes down better than watermelon, guess its all based on the acid and flavoring? @draikaina8503 - I read where you discussed being pretty limited on the shakes due to dietary restrictions. That's rough It's very cool that you write the same genres as me - I, too, have given Nanowrimo a try but never seem to stick with it to the finish line. Maybe I'll try it again this year! I'm glad you mentioned it. Yes - I meant to follow up all week long on making sure I was on the waiting list, and lo and behold... it's Sunday, and I never did. I'm bad on a good day at executive function, so during stressful times like this recovery - whew. I need to add it as a task to my Finch app so my mind stops blanking on it. I hope they were able to do your full surgery with no complications. @Singingbarista - I hope your recovery is going well! I didn't feel too terribly at first but I am suspecting more and more based off of people's feedback that I almost certainly had a nerve block that took a good 4-5 days to completely wear off. The achiness has built over time, and I hope that is different for you! @AndreaJD - Yay! Another writer & Nanowrimo participant! I guess it isn't too surprising that several of us writing folks would find one another on a forum, but I still think it's really cool. Superhero fan fiction sounds fun; I'd say that some of the powers my characters have are very overlapping, like magic use. It would be awesome if you could get some productive writing done during recovery but I also wanted to encourage you not to be too hard on yourself if you can't. My mind feels muddy and I feel drowsy far more often than I would like. I know I'll probably feel SO much better in about a week, but it's sure hard not to be impatient. I also wanted to mention that I didn't have much trouble at all getting my fluids down at first, either, and that's definitely not a bad thing. My nurse told me there will be good days and harder days, and yesterday I definitely experienced that. It was the first day I didn't make my fluid goal, like I wrote above - and I tried to push it in the evening but that was a bad idea. The Berry Propel I drank a bit too quickly before laying down (should have waited longer, d'oh!) ended up giving me heartburn that woke me up around 3am. It's all trial and error, I guess. Dang - wish I'd thought of having tomato soup pre-op! No idea why I didn't - now it'll probably be a while before I dare due to potential acid reflux. Ahh well! I'm going to try some of that blended Progresso Chicken Noodle in my puree stage I think if it passes the 'book check' - it sounds amazing. @Averdra & @caseyash30 - Are you two still surgery twins on the 21st? I'm trying to backtrack and I know that you said there were possible concerns do to a potential Covid case, @Averdra. I hope that's smoothed out for you! I realized while I was doing my recap that I never mentioned - traveling to Lithuania sounds so exotic to me, as a resident of the Midwestern U!. The furthest I've ever been is Alberta, Canada! Not that you would get to go sightseeing or anything; I get it. I know a lot of folks from the US travel to Mexico for their surgeries. Very cool that you were another WoW OG! The game sure has changed a lot, hasn't it? @caseyash30 - How goes the pre-op diet? Are you getting nervous or eager as the date approaches? For me it all just felt really surreal. @Onemealplan & @Greekmom4 - Tomorrow is my 14 day post op! I was paying close attention to your discussions about puree - because to be honest, I'm kind of stumped on this particular stage. I just managed about half a scrambled egg and a couple of teaspoons of my sugar free Chobani and I just feel so full. The whole time I was eyeballing my sugar free gatorade, thinking how ready I was to just be through with food so I could set a timer to be able to start hydrating. As it is, I have hiccups from the two tiny sips of Gatorade I allowed myself just to make the egg not feel stuck in my throat. I know everyone's experiences are going to vary significantly; the friend I have who had surgery previously said she had a lot of luck sipping the French onion soup mixed, especially in the mornings. She's two years post op and doesn't seem to have trouble eating small servings of most anything she wants now, minus much fried foods or rich desserts. She had a full gastric bypass, for reference. She told me that ricotta was a big win for her because it could be blended and made either savory or sweet, depending on if you chose vegetables or fruit, and also said she really enjoyed refried beans through the puree with mild seasoning to make it more like a taco. I have a gastric sleeve cookbook that offers a lot of different smoothie varieties. Other than that - I'm just not sure what sounds appealing as a puree, despite the nurse saying 'you can puree almost anything but stringy / dense meat!' I can see how the chicken or tuna salad would work - tuna just scares me for some reason. I wonder if I'd be able to do a salmon salad instead of tuna salad. Also - @Onemealplan - Yeah, I tried having my fella puree me some canned kidney beans on Friday, just to test the waters, and they didn't settle well for me. I can't say they are what caused me to have trouble passing gas and extra trouble with my constipation - it seems unlikely since I skimmed away the 'shell' and only ate probably a teaspoon and a half worth, but I just don't know. It tasted great to me, but just made me nervous. This is probably in part because I've dealt with IBS and beans of that sort along with ground beef or tomato sauce with too much basil were trigger type foods for me. I concur on the puree'd meats sound distinctly unappetizing. I'm hoping I can get away with mashing cooked salmon or something like that. Wooo! I did it! I hope I didn't miss anyone - I feel caught up finally! Now, to go rest with my ice pack.

A sip isn’t a mouthful. Think about 1/2oz (15ml or about a tablespoon). As your body is able, you’ll be able to taking larger sips. How much & when is individual. Some can take several mouthfuls at a time in a couple of months. Me I’m 5 years out and two swallows is it for me. Your body will tell you if you’re drinking too much or too fast but certainly in that 8 week healing period best to keep to sipping. They insert a breathing tube which can cause swelling which hinders breathing & swallowing. It usually passes after a couple of days. Keep trying to do some slow deep breaths throughout the day. It will help you breathe out the surgical gas. Watch not being able to not breathe deeply especially if you have heart palpitations, chest pains or coughing. If you have that as well go to your nearest medical centre as it may be a clot. Try some biotin for your dry mouth/thirst. I found green tea soothing & refreshing. Any warm or hot drink can help too like herbal tea & soups & broths. Try warm water though some say cold water is easier.

Same for both of my surgeries. I was on all liquid for a week and nothing after midnight (my 1st surgery was at 8am and my 2nd was at 9am). The only liquid I got was at the hospital and it was in a tiny cup when I had to take a couple of pills they gave me, and swished that little bit of water all around and savored it lol

Hi everyone, how are y'all getting with your post op diets, exercise and wellbeing? Here's my experience so far after getting the Gastric Sleeve procedure on 13th June 2024... Immediately after surgery It was pretty rough for me, I woke up in a lot of pain, so much so that the nurses had to give me 30mg morphine for the pain. I was in a recovery room for the first 24 hours (standard procedure for the private hospital in the UK i went through) After the initial 24hrs I was moved back to my room where I felt a lot better. Even able to eat an ice pop and a small cup of tomato soup (sipping of course) and sipping water every 5-10 mins. Week 1-2 I quickly moved onto the liquids phase, in which I must have taken in around 2-300 cals per day through protein shakes and watery soups. I must admin this phase was the hardest for me, managing the pain meds as well as trying to drink as much liquids as I could in a day. It just so happened there was an international football (soccer) tournament on in Europe in my first 2 weeks' recovery so was engrossed in that! I also started walking 1 mile per day and upping that to almost 2 miles by the end of it. My weight loss was drastic in this phase but my word I was lethargic/got tired v easily and not up for doing much. Week 3-4 Puree stage - finally I felt I was able to get some proper food in me, and a few days after starting this phase, my weight slowed right down - the dreaded (but expected) 3 week plateau kicked in. I went around a week and a bit without any weight loss, despite me sticking to the recommended diet. I am not going to sugar coat this, it was a bit disappointing standing on those scales after a week, but I knew this would happen so meh I guess. Still walking 2 miles per day during this phase and now feeling I have a lot more energy. Week 5-6 Week 5 started with me starting to lose a pound every 2 days or so, so my body seems like it has adjusted to the inro of more foods for the 'soft foods' stage. I also started back at the gym doing some cardio work on top of my walks, and oh boy I have so much more energy for it! I am now around half way through week 6 and had my first appointment with my nutritionist and he is blown away by the progress I have made/am making. He gave me further chewing tips to make sure I am not overeating as I have been sick a couple of times when I've eaten too quickly and not realised I'm full/satisfied. He is now happy for me to start introducing more fibred meats and more complex foods, like a little pasta and a little bit of rice, to test the waters. Struggles so far: Reminding myself I have a new stomach not eating what family members are eating e.g. Sunday Dinner Eating too fast resulting in vomiting Extra attention from people who have noticed a loss in weight (47lbs and counting since pre-op liver diet). Since I've been overweight most of my adult life, I carried a lot of shame internally, so its in my nature not to talk about myself/get photos taken etc Wins so far Losing a lot of weight and all the benefits that go with it. Being more present with my family. Having the energy to do everything they want to do (I have a wife and 2 kids, girl 11, boy 7) Clothes! I have dropped from XXXL to XL already. Which was a surprise when I packed to go to a 5 day getaway with my fam in week 5 Mental health - the mental benefits come as such a relief. I no longer feel down about my weight (although I know I still have a ways to go) Confidence - generally just feel I can be more myself - hopefully some here will resonate with this. be great to hear of your journey so far, so let's have it folks, we're all in this together

Never too late to give away or donate from your freezer. Then you’ll have plenty of room to freeze single portions of anything you cook. In a short time you’ll have a variety of meals you can simply defrost & heat. I usually only cook twice a week from scratch, freeze several portions then I ‘shop’ dinner from my freezer. Tonight I’m having pork schnitzel from the batch I cooked last week. Once defrosted it will reheat in 30/40 seconds & I only have to prep vegetables. I use zip lock bags for my single serves: any meat cuts (steak, lamb cutlets, etc.) plus soups, meat balls, bolognese, anything really. I even cook a mini roast, slice it up & freeze individual portions in the bags with gravy. Easy to write on the bag what it is & add a date so you remember when you cooked & froze it.

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.

I have it with smells. So many things smell like fish or tobacco to me. My dad will make himself a coffee, and I smell cigarettes. He'll be frying up eggs or a hamburger, tobacco. And for some reason, a lot of medicinal scents smell fishy to me: my metformin makes me gag because it smells so strongly of fish -- as does my children's grape-flavoured allergy liquid. 😕 As for taste, I've been lucky enough not to experience that -- although my taste buds are definitely still out of whack / different than pre-op. I can taste chemicals in SO many things now -- even items that I was fine with (twice, just last week) suddenly taste chemically. (I'm looking at you, lemon pudding....)

I’m glad you questioned everything and have finally got your answers from the horses mouth as it were. Just try to maintain an air of zen now for the next couple of weeks!

Before I had my hysterectomy, I noticed my PCOS sort of regulated a bit. Didn't do a whole lot for my hormonal imbalance, skin tags, insulin resistance, and it really made losing weight slower and more difficult, but it straightened out my periods a lot. I would go 2 or 3 months without one, then bleed like niagra falls for 2 weeks straight, then get a light one the next month, then start over. After I dropped my first 70ish pounds, I noticed they were coming in more regularly, and after my first 100ish pounds lost, they were proper length, proper frequency. And it stayed that way until about 4 months before my hysterectomy. Then they started getting wonky again. Skipped 2 months, needed progesterone to get it started the next month which caused HEEAAVY bleeding, then nothing the next month, then hysterectomy and I didn't care lol

For me personally, I stick to 3 days of heavy weight lifting and it works for me and my goals, and I have always done the same. My goal is to maintain a good muscle tone (currently my inbody analysis tells me that my muscle mass is excellent and so is my lean body mass). I've always loved the slim but toned look on myself and I am not a fan of being on the bigger muscular side for me personally, although I admire that on other people. There were periods where I worked out with weights 4 times a week and I gained some weight (albeit muscle) and I wasn't 100% happy with the way I looked. My point is it depends on your goals, if you're trying to build as much muscle as possible then 4 or even 5 days will do you good, however if you want to maintain and cut down on body fat then 3 days are more than enough. Sometimes I add a strength and conditioning day (these are my favorite), and I realize Pilates is a form of resistance training so it all works out. With that being said, I used to do much more HIIT and intense cardio prior to surgery but now I stick to light jogging reaching my step goal and sometimes I'll do a fun trampoline workout (which burns a ton). I try not to rely on cardio to lose or maintain but on a good diet regimen to maintain a lower body fat and my strength training for building muscle and altering body composition. You are not as sore because you are building muscle and getting stronger, I suggest mixing strength and conditioning during your workouts so if you're training legs your supersets can be deadlifts + jump rope, reverse lunges + high knees and so on. This would particularly work wonderfully with upper body workouts.

I wonder if your therapist just chose the wrong word. I think we all enjoy food (stimulating all the senses) but what we don’t do (or try not to do) is rely on it as a comfort or let it take up a great deal of our thinking. So may be glamorise wasn’t the best word and focus or fixate may have been better. But they should have given you some strategies to help. You may have to ask for some the next time you meet. You know that old adage of eating to live not living to eat? For many of us that is what it is like now. I still love to go out to restaurants with family & friends. I still like to try new foods. I still like the taste, smell, texture, & sight of food. I still love to cook & try new recipes. I just watch portions, ingredients, cooking styles, frequency, etc. & make adjustments accordingly and also make the best choices I can in the situation. But a lot of that has become second nature now & don’t think about it much. If you were someone who used food to comfort or sooth yourself, the first weeks after surgery can be challenging. Your emotions can be all over the place & you may be stressed, anxious, teary, …. If when you felt like this before surgery you turned to food you may want food more now simply because you can’t which can also make you more emotional. Plus being restricted about what you eat can often make you crave the food you can’t have even more. Though challenging, these things are temporary, not long term & certainly not forever. In the meantime try distracting yourself when you find the food voices in your head too loud or you think you may hungry. It’s a great strategy we all use. Go for a walk (as you’re able), read a book, craft, ring a friend or family member, play a game or do a puzzle, check your socials (like this forum), meditate, etc. Sometimes a warm drink can be helpful like green or herbal tea (counts to your fluid goal too - yay!). All the best.

Hello again! Yes, @ShoppGirl - that's exactly what it was, now that you mention it that rings a bell! It was Heparin to help prevent blood clots. Maybe I won't need to B12 since I do still have my gallbladder - time will tell! I, too, had forgotten about the recipes on Baritastic until earlier today when I went to add the recipe I ended up using for the chicken salad I had for dinner. I need to get some fat free mayo; today I cheated and just used two teaspoons of regular mayo because that's what I had; and also sweet relish as opposed to dill relish. Are you taking an ADEK supplement? My nurse was insistent on my having to take them as a SADI patient post-op, so I ordered some from Barimelts that have thankfully not tasted terrible and dissolve quickly. It's a GREAT reminder about the recipes in Baritastic - thank you, @draikaina8503 for the reminder as well! When you get your staples out I'd suggest asking them to be liberal in their application of steri-strips, especially for ones that are on the sides or at an angle. Having that extra support against the pulling really did make a big difference. Weirdly, so has using antibiotic/pain relief ointment?! I'd never really experienced 'pain relief' from that ointment (generic over the counter) but I was shocked to find that after I applied it my pain did actually lesson! Who'd have thought?? Also, I totally kept the two reusable ice bags from the hospital and have been using them this whole time because they were softer than the ice packs I had and the ice being able to move around a bit as it melted was just more comfortable. I'm glad you'll be able to get back on your Adderall and normal medications now! I will say that nice warm showers also feel really nice overall during recovery, especially if you have an alternate shower pressure setting that can go easy on the surgical site and maybe more pulsing/massaging on the back. Just my own personal experience. I came across an inspiration idea for the puree phase today when looking around on Amazon! A friend of mine had given me about 2/3 of a container of the 30g powder protein in Vanilla and I realized that oatmeal is a great thing to add it to! I feel like if I cook the oatmeal and let it get soft and fluffy, then add in the protein powder with it to the food processor that I bet it will be perfect AND help me get my protein goal! Plus since oatmeal is high in fiber it should help with regular bowel movements. I even thought I might add some of my zero sugar caramel macchiato creamer to it in order to give it more flavor without adding an artificial sweetener. I do have some xantham gum though should I need it. I'm planning on exploring what types of purees I can make with my greek zero sugar vanilla yogurt, various fruits, and that protein powder. I'm not sure why but something just CLICKED earlier when I was in my kitchen and I realized that between the ricotta, strawberries, blueberries, low fat cottage cheese, and protein powder that I actually have a lot more options than I'd previously considered! You can also mix protein shakes with sugar free pudding instead of milk - but word to the wise, learn from my mistake and don't make up too much at once because at about day 3-4 it starts to separate and get runny. Before that it's quite tasty and filling, though! My chair isn't bothering me quite as much today after I laid a thick folded blanket down on the seat for cushioning; and I think part of my discomfort may have also just simply been from constipation and gas that needed to be passed. I'm proceeding with caution on starting new foods that I haven't already tried, but I will say the chicken salad sat really well on my stomach. I even 'cheated' and crumbled up two Ritz crackers on top for some texture variant - it was the first 'meal' I've eaten really other than my half a scrambled egg this morning that I found to be satisfying. I'm using the timer in Baritastic to make sure I go 30 mins before and after eating without a drink - that's still been rough but as long as I distract myself the time goes by pretty quickly. Oh - @draikaina8503 - I'm not sure if it is allowed for you per your doctor, but I've dealt with the dry mouth using sugar free jolly ranchers sparingly. I'm so sorry you're struggling with getting water down, but glad you're getting some relief with ice chips! Sonic definitely has better ice chips; as do a few gas stations here any there. Ice chips are SUCH a nice thing to have available. I'm cursing the fact that I don't have an ice dispenser in my fridge - sadly it isn't that fancy - but it sure would make it easier to fill these ice packs than having to fight to crack an ice tray and refill lol @Onemealplan - Yeah, what's with the ice cream? That sounds delightful lol - I mean, obviously one ounce wouldn't be bad - It just wasn't something I thought of myself as being allowed to have! Now you've got me thinking of all the sugar free varieties I saw available at Braum's in their store section! I guess I can also finally have my sugar free popsicles - Woohoo! Also thank you to @Rob Nissam for your insight about the gas and general knowledge sharing! I hope you are doing well on your path and in recovery! @AndreaJD - Thanks for the suggestions about what purrees are working for you! I'm all ears when it comes to tips to carry me through these next two weeks. I was thinking about my cream of soups earlier and how I can now have them warm. I know I need to buy some unflavored protein powder -- Does anyone have a suggestion for an unflavored protein powder they've found works well and mixes well? Just curious what's working and what if anything isn't! Wishing all of you the best in preparing, having surgeries, and recovering from them in the coming days! This forum has been invaluable to me and I'm grateful to all of you for sharing your tips and experiences so far!

I'm pre-op and my surgery is much sooner along than I expected. I was expecting to have a few weeks to try and ease into the liver shrinking diet and buy foods that I can have on hand, but it was just sprung on me that I would need 12 weeks of liquids. No easing into it, no chance to have my favourite foods one last time (which isn't a bad thing really, but it feels like it. I lost control and cheated and I had 4 slices of toast and then felt so bad. Knowing it's only another 11 weeks to go is a short time, but it feels like years. I just got really upset at the idea that I won't be able to eat solid foods until December. It makes cravings so bad.

This morning I received a green jacket I found on Ebay last week. When I held it up, I thought "This is a child's jacket!!" I checked the label and saw that the size was indeed Large, but then I said to myself, "Yeah, a large child, maybe." But I thought I should at least try it on to see if there was any way I could keep it in case I lost another 60 pounds. Then the magic happened. I put it on and it fit! I couldn't believe it. We really do have warped visions of ourselves, don't we? I really did think I was at least 60 pounds beyond what the jacket would fit. Mind blown.

Well my surgeons front office staff is consistent in giving me the wrong information at least. The nurse doing my paperwork said that my preop diet was two days liquid diet. I said last time I did a week of the LSD she said no it’s just two days but she would double check. Well when she didn’t call I called the office and they said yep two days but it sounded like they just checked the paper she gave me and hadn’t asked him. So thankfully I made an appt with the NP and she said that it should be two weeks of the LSD plus two days of liquids so I have to start in two days. Yet another shining example of why I don’t trust anything that they say. Who knows what would’ve happened when he found out on surgery day that I hadn’t done the diet at all. I would’ve been so devastated if they postponed me Thanks to @SleeveToBypass2023 though I did find out that they have a patient portal so I can skip the front office and message the Nurses and Doctor instead. Of course the front office wasn’t sure how to get me logged into it 🤣 they told me to call the help number on the site. The FAQ’s say that the office has to send me an invite first though with a code so I’ve got to ask the surgeon about that on Monday too. Shocking, right? Anyways, I have to wrap my mind around starting the pre op two weeks sooner than they said (a week sooner than I expected her to say). I am definitely doing to be wasting some food since I just bought groceries expecting to have another week. I am making a grocery order to pickup up Monday after I see the surgeon. I have the two shakes for breakfast and lunch. It’s honestly not too bad. I have to do two shakes but I do get a low carb dinner and a snack at least. Not complaining after seeing others having to all all liquid. I am going to get pretty board with it after two weeks though I’m sure. I wish I liked more of a variety of shakes. I like the cafe late or proffee a lot but of course that’s caffeine. Which it doesn’t technically say no caffeine but it seems like they told me that last time. Adding that to my list of questions too. The questions that the nutritionists should have answered but I was told no LSD so she didn’t go over it. 🤦‍♀️

Ok, so there are lots of posts out there about concerns about speed of weight loss, amount of weight loss, how much is too much weight lost, how much is too little, etc. etc. The same responses inevitably come back, about how we are all different, we lose at our own rates, genetics, starting weight, height, gender, age are all factors, don't compare, etc. etc. But the reality is that no one really cares about the reasons for the differences, we all seem to just wanna see the NUMBERS. And then compare them to our own. Le Sigh. Sooooo....being a one who personally LOVES numbers and data and spreadsheets, I thought I would start a little project. I want to collect stats from any willing members and i will compile the data into a lovely spreadsheet and graph(s) organized by certain variables. Doesn't that sound like fun???? 😂😂😂😂 So, for FUNSIES, send me the following info (if you are willing!), and i after i collect a good-enough sized sample (say at least 100?), I'll do my thing. It may take a week, a month a year, depending on how many people participate. 1. Basics: GENDER, AGE, HEIGHT 2. Total Weight lost in the 6 months BEFORE surgery (if any) 3. Weight on DAY OF SURGERY. 4. Weight at 1 MONTH POST surgery 5. Weight at 3 MONTHs POST surgery 6. Weight at 6 MONTHs POST surgery 7. Weight at 12 MONTHs POST surgery * the final report will have names/usernames removed in an effort to a bit of privacy if you don't want to reply to the thread with the info, feel free to DM me ** of course this will not be in any way some definitive scientific report! - ms.sss

June 13th. Now over 6 weeks post op and just starting to eat normal foods. Do you also find nothing tastes good and eating the same thing two days in a row is stomach churning? Wasting so much food as I just eat a couple of bites then can’t eat more. Soup is still the easiest to consume and stays down. Not complaining but I wasn’t expecting to no longer enjoy food. Weirded out and wondering if this is now permanent.

Well, today I go for my first post-op appointment. Thinking I may be on a liquid diet just a little bit longer. I met my fluid and protein goals on Monday, but then yesterday I did not because I was so sick I was in bed for literally the majority of the day. We'll see what happens. I think I may have gotten overheated because we went out yesterday morning so that I could get a haircut after my husband's doctor's appointment, and while he was in his appointment I did walking laps around the parking lot. And we have a heat wave striking again. But we'll see what happens. I'll try to post an update after I get home from that. Oh, I did remove the CGM sensor that had blisters forming around it. Well, they also formed under it. And... it wasn't pleasant. I essentially have a large hole in my arm now from where it took quite a bit of skin with it. I have also had an uptick in pain the last few days. I had taken myself off my pain meds completely, but I've had to take one a day since Sunday. I'll be discussing that with the doctor today too. Has anyone else experienced that? Also, real talk - Cottage cheese has always disgusted me because of how it looks. So someone please tell me what it tastes like, since I'm probably going to have to learn to like it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @ShoppGirl I am allowed to use milks (lactose intolerant so non-dairy milks). I've just been adding water to the one shake because it's super thick. Like, imagine drinking a milkshake through a tiny straw. That kind of thick. I'm less worried about protein on that one because it's 32g per bottle. I just have to be able to drink it for it to matter lol. I am sooooooo sorry about your a/c. I can't stand heat and I would probably be living in a hotel if ours went out right now. But I do know what you mean. I can't do much of anything right now still. I've been pushing myself to at least do dishes when I can, but even that is a bit much for me sometimes. But we're gonna get over this hump and then we're going to get our houses back in order! I do hope your a/c is fixed quickly and cheaply. Update - Glad to see your a/c just randomly decided to start working again. Any chance that the outside unit had frozen? Splenda is a Godsend, honestly. I've had to be on it for years already with my diabetes. I was told I could use any artificial sweetner as long as I didn't go overboard with it. So that is good to know for when I start the puree stage! I'm curious to see how much my taste buds have changed since surgery. I know a couple of people who can't stand even the smell of eggs now. I really hope that's not me. I love me some eggs. I was also told post-surgery, fish is going to be a go-to meal once I can get there. Like at least once a week, kind of thing. As someone who used to work for an allergist - the prick test is just for contact items, like fur and dust. If you are concerned about food allergies, that would be a multitude of appointments for each one you ares scared of. Because they have you actually eat the food while you are there in the office, and then you have to sit there and wait to see if you have a reaction. "It's just me and my hubby and if it bothers him then he is perfectly capable of doing it himself." This, 100000000%. lol. Hubby has asked me what I'm cooking for lunch/dinner, and I just stare at him for a long few seconds before it clicks what he just asked me to do. Then he's like, "Oh, nevermind." I do need to be better about limiting my bending and such. I'm obeying the weight guidelines, but I'm also of the opinion that if I can do something, I should do something. My husband has a stressful job (911 dispatcher) with crazy hours. And he has taken over a lot of the things that I was doing pre-surgery. So I feel like I have to do what I can to help him out too. I've been on Pinterest a lot lately, saving recipes for me to try later on. I am going to probably have a fight with my husband on certain things - like ground turkey for tacos, I already know he isn't going to be on board with. But that might be a thing where I make my food ahead of time and am like, "Okay, this is what I'm having on this night. If you don't like it, you're on your own to figure out food." But that skinny scampi sounds like it might be delicious! You'll have to let us know! I hope the eye appointment wasn't too terrible for you. Kudos to you on making plans for a healthy rest of your life. I need to really sit down and start figuring that out myself. My fear is that I work 3 jobs. While I'm off for 2 months for 2 of them, I worry that any kind of set schedule I make for myself now will get thrown out the window when those get added back. Right now, I'm trying to walk in the mornings before the heat gets too bad. And I have a cycle machine that fits under my desk, so I use that throughout the day. Once they let me, I definitely need to figure out how to get some weight training in. I'm still pulling sticky stuff off of me after multiple showers. It's not just you. This stuff just doesn't want to go away, which was good for surgery. But now it needs to go. LOL I definitely do not like the sleeping the majority of my day and night away because it's preventing me from having a schedule. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @Onemealplan You said you can only eat 2oz of food every 3 hours. Are you meeting your protein goals with that? My nutritionist said that even at the puree and soft food stage, I'm expected to supplement my protein goals with protein shakes still. I'm still in the liquid stage, but it takes me an hour to finish an 11oz protein shake. I have yet to feel 'full' but I do know when I've pushed too far because I start to feel kind of sick. The lack of feeling full terrifies me, honestly. Which, I know it's just my anxiety but at the same time I'm like, "What if I have already screwed my stomach up because I didn't feel full????" Hopefully I get some reassurance today at the post-op. But I do get that mental hunger thing. It's been particularly bad lately because I just want SOMETHING that isn't liquids. Hopefully as I progress, I can start kicking that to the curb. I have a vacation coming up in October that I'm trying to prepare myself for. I should hopefully be on soft foods by then. As for the servers, one of the audiobooks I listened to in order to prepare for surgery suggested heading that off immediately. Just telling them up front you recently had a surgery so you will not be able to eat while you are recovering. One of my husband's coworkers who had the RYGB just orders water when he goes out with his husband. Sometimes he'll sip on it, sometimes he just leaves it sitting there. All depends on when he last had a protein shake. They offered you a surgery video? I haven't heard that. I would be interested in watching it if that's an option for me, but it may not be. How big of bites are you taking at this point? I'm just curious so I can start mentally planning for that vacation in a couple of months. (Man, am I so ready for a vacation, even with the dietary changes.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @Pepper_No_Salt I've also had extreme fatigue. If I was dishes, I'm having to rest for an hour. I'm not doing anything more than that right now because I just physically can't handle it. But yeah, there are lots of long naps during my daytime, which is also affecting my abilitiy to get fluids and protein in. Glad to hear that you've gotten better! I know yesterday was a bad day for me out of nowhere. I'm blaming heat, but I don't actually know what the problem was. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @RRenaeL23 and @Pepper_No_Salt - Good luck at your next appointments! I hope you do get moved up to pureed foods! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @Hiddenroses Interesting! I was told they would not move me on to the pureed foods until I was regularly hitting 60g of protein daily. They said nothing about whether or not I was active. I'll be curious to see what is said when I go to my post-op today. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @Meme Campbell I hope your surgery went fantastically and you are recovering well! I know that liquid stage sucks, but it's for a good reason. Just keep reminding yourself of that.

Any surgery twins? Had surgery on Monday, June 3rd- Monday. HW- 273 Before surgery- 234 CW- 230 So far, week one has went well. I haven’t felt any hunger until today. I’ve been able to meet my goals daily 💪 so far! I am on full liquids currently and haven’t had any nausea or vomiting. Some soreness/tenderness but not any extreme pain. Wish me well and give me your best tips for success!