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My days are reasonably consistent. My surgeon is very ‘hands off’ with regard to food, protein, but has done a fair bit of Rea search with his 1700 bypass patients - the average is 800 calories a day a year out, and 1000 long term. He is strictly 3 meals a day, no in between snacking. I have coffee/protein shake at breakfast - coffee shot, bit of milk, 30g protein, ice cubes blitzed. For lunch 25g cheese and either chicken/ham or maybe a salami beerstick. And then we have our big variety in dinner. We have mostly eaten with a strong focus on preparing from-scratch evening meals all year, low carb, good protein and loads of fresh veggies. I do use bought (processed) dressings, sauces, sometimes. Like most New Zealanders, we do eat a fair bit of cheese, sometimes home made (oh, making halloumi, mozzarella and ricotta is SO easy) and homemade yoghurt. And that is us - no treats, but we make an evening meal we really enjoy. BUT. up until the bypass, our BS (before surgery) diet included fairly frequent takeaways, regular brunches. But the worst offender was potato crisps and dip, and binges with ice cream, chocolate or biscuits or other processed ‘treats’. These have ceased, and I feel way better for it. I crave different food types now, and seldom have sugar cravings - and when I do, I ride it out!

@Bryn910 yes i have to stop it because of blood clots. but now that you mention it, i never had a problem with my weight and bc, if anything, it helped me lose weight or maintain. i’ve been on the pill for 8 years now so it will be weird to not take it for a few months. but they’re okay with starting it again? surgery doesn’t change it’s effectiveness or anything?

I have pcos and was able to stop my metformin the day before surgery and I didn't have to resume taking it at all. My program wants us to be on birth control though as they don't want us getting pregnant for at least 18 months post op. I have an iud so that wasn't an issue. Why do they not want you on bc? Sent from my LG-H918 using BariatricPal mobile app

I have Fed Blue too, and my surgeon submitted that they're doing an umbilical hernia repair along with the sleeve. Once I was approved, I called Fed BCBS and they said the hernia is covered 100% along with the sleeve (minus the co-pay for the hospital stay and surgeon's fee). So this makes me a little concerned.

BCBS Fed submitted 6/4. Still PENDING!!! grrrrr. Sent from my LG-M153 using BariatricPal mobile app

I am literally in the same situation as you Adam. 21 years old with a social life! I’m from the UK though. My surgery weight was 266lbs. And I’m 4 weeks post op. My last weigh in over a week ago was 240lbs. I haven’t weighed myself since as I know from experience regular weigh ins mess with my head! I can see inches coming off though so holding back on buying a new wardrobe just yet. I used to drink loads on nights out. With friends. I’m nervous about now in the future bc even drinking water too fast or too much in 1 go physically hurts. Not to mention the annoying-odour-free burping. And then I would always have to what we’d call a “sober munch” before returning home lol. So as to not end up choking on our own sick in bed. Ie a greasy take out to absorb the vodka and sober us up! I’ve no idea how that is meant to happen now with the new sleeve capacity but I’m also not that bothered either like they’re empty calories. My friends have the skinny gene where they’d eat and drink and never gain weight. I wasn’t as fortunate so I ruined my own life going along with the crowd and eating out just to snap it for Snapchat and the gram! (social media) so even if I can get drunk on 2 packs now of vodka and a low calorie drink mix then I’m happy with that but I wouldn’t start drinking until I’m at my goal weight. Ie 7 months I think. I’m aiming for 175lbs. I sometimes have regretted getting the sleeve done because I didn’t have THAT much weight to lose and I did manage to lose 4 stone dieting in 2 years. No exercise. And just eating calories less than my BMR. But I couldn’t live like that for the rest of my life so I wanted to be able to enjoy food but smaller portions so I see that as a positive. I’ve been waiting to get cleared at 6 weeks before going ahead with my personal trainer because I’ve never stepped foot in a gym in my life! My surgery was done in Erdem Hospital in Turkey btw. It was £7000 cheaper than the UK (£10,000). I don’t have any communication with the surgeon or nutritionist so my diet I’m doing myself based on posts and archives from here but also I’m doing my 2nd year of nurse training so it’s part of my career too. I feel like there will be stalls in weight loss but that’s just because our body has gotten used to a certain routine so things need tweaking and changing. The thing about protein and vitamins is true for hair loss. Very true. I already suffered from hereditary hair loss anyway from about 16! So the fact I got this done now 5 years later and I’m 22 in 2 months, doesn’t help either so I’m still looking online for the perfect multi vitamin and protein supplement. I can drink shakes easily (not in 1 go) but the taste doesn’t bother me unlike some but yeah my Hospital were useless like that so I’ve been left to my own devices and find my own tablets for life. But I’m glad to know there’s someone my age on here now who’s going through the same thing as me!

Been feeling some kind of way lately and I believe it’s starting to affect me. I’m currently a week away from being 5 months post-op and for some reason, I’ve been getting A LOT of notice lately about my weight and as uncomfortable as it might be sometimes because people ask you what you’re doing, what you’re eating, etc. (Most people don’t know I’ve had VSG), what has been bothering me the most is that I am now having a lot of people tell me I need to stop losing bc I’m looking sickly or not good. It’s so confusing and discouraging bc it’s making me wonder if I should stop or if I don’t look good. However, when I look in the mirror, I still see someone that needs to lose some weight so it’s so confusing!!!! I am currently 6 pounds away from my first goal but I was hoping to lose that plus maybe another 10-15 lbs. my first goal is based on the BMI scale and being in the last possible number to be under healthy weight but the second goal was more of what I think I should be based on my height and maybe giving myself a little wiggle room. Plus getting more in the middle of that healthy weight range. Part of my issue is that I do have some loose skin on my arms, belly, and legs, which is from years of yo-yo dieting and going up and down. I haven’t gone for a plastics consultation because I thought it might be too soon but I think at this point, that might only go away with surgery and maybe that’s what’s making me feel that I’m not there yet. I don’t know-all these comments are stressing me out and making me sad at the same time. I don’t want to look bad and I never wanted to be rail-thin but now I’m questioning all my goals and I’m the kind of person that needs goals to succeed. Please help!! So discouraged. ☹️

Lauri, sorry you are all kinds of frustrated. I hope you can find a therapist soon. In the meantime, try to go back to basics like right after surgery. Protein and vegetables, water, water, water. Use Baritastic to track food, water, and walking. The app is free. Walking is free. STOP BUYING KEURIG flavored coffee, the caffeine is dehydrating and likely running you at full speed and then making you crash. Wean off the caffeine, do half and half decaf, get some Toriani flavored syrups from Walmart and fake the flavored coffee, use Premier Protein caramel as creamer. Do you have hobbies? Take a community ed class - they are usually low cost, is there a knitting group or book club nearby, is there a Y where you can go swimming? You can meet new people. Also that Psych eval was long ago, so I call BS on blaming her for your eating, just saying..... You can do this, you know what you are doing wrong. Start now. Keep posting, I'll keep answering.

well for some reason it wasn't letting me quote anyone...but here it goes... I have been thinking of how I would tell my story. It isn’t the normal story. It isn’t a happy one. On Thursday, May 31st, I had RNY bypass surgery. I stayed the night in the hospital and was released the next day in the late afternoon. I went home, my kids happy to see me and that the surgery was over, and I felt the same. My mom took them to eat bc I fell asleep in the recliner, and why would she think I wasn’t able to walk since I was walking earlier in the day. I woke up to get my dogs some food…I was super weak in the legs and when I turned around to get back in the chair I fell straight back on my tile floor. I peed myself…I don’t think I passed out really but I defiantly lost my bearings. Of course “hey siri” wasn’t responding so I had to find my phone in a haze. I crawled my way to the bathroom…I actually thought I did more than pee myself but when I checked my pants it was a huge blood clot and fresh red blood…and then a ton more in the toilet. I tried to call a couple of friends that I assumed would be in town but were out for the evening so I called my mom away from dinner. When she arrived she saw what state I was in (pale and bleeding) she immediately tended to me and my 11 year old son cleaned up my urine... he never should have ever had to do that! My mom frantically trying to clean me up and figure out what to do, I somehow had enough wits about me to tell her to dial 911… When the paramedics arrived I was a light, light beige color and barley a pulse. My veins were so collapsed they couldn’t start an IV …they were struggling….my pulse was super faint and and blood pressure almost bottomed out. I ended up losing more than half my total blood volume. 4 bags of blood and 2 bags of plasma later. I’m alive. Not the way the surgery was supposed to go. I am home now, having some double vision so its been hard to see my phone so I had wait until I was more alert and with my computer. So tomorrow is one week since my surgery.

I have finished all of my required stuff for insurance and it's been submitted to BC thru my surgeon and they are looking at it now. So just guessing how long will reviewing take? I just gave to them last Tues. and they have already sent it to BC so maybe I will hear? I am so excited!

Hi everyone. Posted about a week ago about wanting to do a pouch reset after being in a stall for almost 3 weeks and because I had started to fall back into my old eating habits (not counting calories, not eating protein first, eating junk food, eating as soon as I felt “hungry”, etc). Looked it up online and the first day I did clear liquids only, followed by a few days of protein shakes. Here are some realizations, good and bad, which I hope help anyone that is thinking about doing this: 1. It was ALOT easier this time around!! Lol. Had two do a 2-week pre-op diet when I started this back in January and that was SUPER hard. I suffer from migraines and got one almost everyday. This time around, it was SO much easier and no migraines!! 🙂 I’m assuming it’s bc of our small stomachs that don’t need as much food so my little sleeve was mostly content. So that was nice to experience. 2. I realized that most of the “hunger” I had been feeling was mostly head hunger and not real hunger. I still can’t seem to tell the difference and it gets me in trouble sometimes. Before I did this, I had started to experience a lot of hunger, which also made me eat crappy and I thought I had broken my pouch or something was wrong. I think it was just really head hunger and I was giving in to temptation. It’s taught me a lot. 3. It was nice to take a break from cooking and thinking about what to eat. At least for me. It was nice that I knew I would be having a protein shake and that I was all set. Even though I am almost 5 months out, I still worry about eating out or what my meal will be if I am out. Definitely gave me a break from that but it also made me realize that it’s not a big deal and that I shouldn’t worry so much. 4. I broke my stall!! I obviously know that it’s because I was in liquids but after the scale not moving, it was nice to see a change. I am still a slave to the scale and worry about the number WAY too much! But I’m working on it lol. Rome wasn’t built in a day 🤪 5. Of course it’s harder on the weekend, especially if you have family or commitments. I turned down an invitation to go out with friends on Saturday because I thought it would be best for me. And of course my family was already used to me eating regular foods so it was harder for them when they were trying to eat and I was having my shakes. 6. The biggest issue, for me at least, was how easy it was to keep going and how obsessed you can get with the regimen and the scale, if it’s going down. My personality is one that if I commit to something I will do it 110%, which can be bad at times. I ended up being on shakes longer than I wanted to because I was feeling ok, was seeing results, and because it was easy overall. I ended up doing it for 6 days instead of 3 and truthfully, could’ve kept going. But as we all know, I’m sure it’s not the best and no one can live off shakes forever and we all need to learn how to eat healthy and in moderation. So definitely can be a slippery slope depending on the results and your personality. So I hope this helps anyone thinking about doing this or anyone that has been struggling lately with overeating or not eating well. You can definitely “reset,” you can definitely hit pause and re-evaluate things, and your pouch will be ok 😊

Cook's Essentials from QVC was our first one and in my wifes opinion it was the best one. Next was a GoWise USA because she wanted a bigger one. Unfortunately it was just OK. Then we got another brand that neither my wife nor I can remember the name of because it broke within days of using it. I became so fed up with the revolving door of air fryers that I dropped the money for a Breville Smart Oven Air: https://www.amazon.com/Breville-BOV900BSS-Smart-Oven-Silver/dp/B01N5UPTZS This is of course so much more than an air fryer. It is an incredible appliance, but if I am going to be completely honest, for just air frying... the very first one we bought was the best. But you can only do one entire chicken breast or two-ish filets. Literally the only bad thing about that thing.

I have the Aria scale, yes. Love it! Honestly I'd be so damn out of my mind this BS gain/lose rollercoaster if I wasn't continually seeing that body fat number drop.

Insurance companies do the math. They are concerned with profits, not your health. If the insurance company pays for bariatric surgery In the long-term they are probably saving Medicare money, not themselves. Many insurance companies have found that bariatric surgery costs them money bc people lose weight and qualify for skin removal and other surgeries (hips/knees/hernias/cardiac). It is cheaper for insurance to pay for the CPAP and diabetes supplies for a few years, then pass the patient on to Medicare or another insurance company. There are a few physician's groups and patient advocate organizations working to change this, but it is a slow process.

5 weeks out and my scrubs are hanging off of me, my coworkers even brought up great places to take them in. Walking past pizza, donuts, etc and not craving them at all. Instead choosing healthy protein instead bc I'm craving it. People saying my face is slimmer. Went down a pant size. Almost able to cross my legs comfortably. This is only in 5 weeks, I can't wait to see what else is in store for me!!!!

I totally get this. I typically don't let it bother me, just like I don't really get too worked up with all the Flatearthers bs. I tend to scoff internally about how I can't fathom why anyone needs a magical controller to be happy or to explain what can't yet be explained. I can say without any uncertainty that everyone here can thank those less or non-religious for their lives, because if it wasn't for those that bucked religion and backed science, none of us would have ever had WLS. Hell, more than half of us wouldn't even be alive. I don't prescribe to the "atheist" tag, mainly because I don't know. To say that there isn't something much more powerful than I, that just happens to exist outside my perception of the universe that happens to live WAY the hell longer than I do, doesn't exist, is just as daft as saying one does exist. We are still infants, barely able to stand at the door looking out the screen at the yard in front of us and assuming that's all of existence without knowing or seeing the rest of the world that sprawls outward ahead of us. We've got a a LONG way to go as a species, religion is just an archaic answer to questions we've already started to be able to answer. That said, whatever Jelly's your Donut as long as you don't attempt to jelly mine.

Thank you. I mean, I guess I am just confused. I don't know what his angle is or why the outburst of rudeness from someone I don't even know. I started to feel like I was 7 years old and he was a kid in my class Lol. It is bizarre. I guess they'd call someone like this a troll Yes, that is exactly why I did the hand thing. And it's not gross. All it is is sliced luncheon turkey with a melted cheese stick. It's not gross to me. And it's easy to measure this way. I eat a lot of turkey and chicken and yes , these cheese sticks bc they're not bad in calories. I thank you for your support and I thank you for coming to my aid. It's people like you that are hero's in this world Although I am not weak at all, but more just tired and confused to try to even engage in this spitting contest, I am super impressed that you said " Hell to the No" and decided to call out RUDE behavior Good for you, and.. thank you Joanna

Even if you have never had bs issues before WLS, it is common with RNY to have reactive hypoglycemia. I have read many posts on this subject. I know that some RNYers that suffer with it carry the sugar tablets with them. You really need to follow Drs orders with this because it can be quite dangerous if you get to the point that you are fainting. Would not want that to happen while driving, etc. Hopefully someone with more knowledge than I have will come along and add more information here. Good luck to you!

Oh, try the PatchMD! I was fed up with all the pills, particularly the three giant calcium citrate pills a day. Now with the patch my only pills are 25 mg of Cozaar, omeprazole, Strattera, fish oil, fiber pills, and Sennokot. And the patches are only $20 for a 30-day supply!

Hocus Pocus BS. Fictitious figments of imagination looping around in the clouds ain't determining anything for me.

No, no counseling but I think I’m going to look into it. Deep down I know I have a problem with food too since I have been on this yo-to train for many years and have gone up and down way too much (only plus side of that is that I haven’t really had to buy a log of clothes bc I have sizes from 2 to 14!) thanks for the suggestion. I think it will be great to talk to someone about it

The unflavored protien are just that, unflavored. But they still have a taste and change whatever you put them in. I like Unjury reg chocolate whey protien powder. I mix it with almond milk, not so creamy/heavy as mixing with milk, less calories too. Skim milk has 90 calories/8oz and almond milk has 30 calories/8oz. There is also a 50/50 almond milk and coconut milk combo I like, tastes like an almond joy when mixed with chocolate protien powder. 😊 You might want to check other threads for suggestions. Unjury was one of the first ones I tried and I stuck with it bc it tastes good, has no chalky aftertaste, and doesn't make frothy bubbles when I shake it up in my blender bottle.

I love you Frustr8! You always know just how to make me feel better! 😂 I’m going to call again tomorrow and tell them this is bs! Hopefully they’ll be able to get me in sometime this week.

1.35% with 2 methods is still technically less effective than an IUD, which is over 99%. Please also remember that these percentages don't apply to you after weight loss surgery bc you are more fertile. The increase in fertility comes from hormones, so you should have the most effective hormonal birth control out there. If your goal is to not use condoms, then I would definately get on something besides the patch. I totally understand, condoms literally ruin sex for me. I hate them. You also mentioned that you were new to sexual activity. Trust me when I say that there is a learning curve to managing birth control and we have all had a few scares over the years. (Missing a pill, period late a day or 2, condom broke/expired) Do some research and reconsider an IUD.

I am 36yr old and 5'4". Starting weight/surgery weight 268 pounds. Was sleeved 5/09 and am down 20 pounds as of TODAY! Losing weight was always very difficult for me. I felt like I was starving and exercising like crazy with little to no results. But the surgery has helped so much! I still feel hungry here and there, but nothing like before. So happy I did this! Don't wait, start the process now bc it takes a while. You can change your mind anytime b4 the operating room.