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I completely understand your chaos and hope your surgery went well today! As to the constipation question - *absolutely* dealt with that during the liquid diet stage. I'm pretty sure it's the cutting out of almost all sugar and whatever they put in the protein shakes that does it. They had me taking 100mg of Colace twice a day during my liquid diet. I wanted to encourage you to ask for ice packs while in the hospital to help you manage your pain! I'm a week post op at home now and seem to have an ice pack against my abdomen probably 20 minutes out of every hour, still. It isn't that I'm hurting horribly, my pain is managed unless I stand for too long (NEVER would have thought merely standing long enough to cook breakfast would be so exhausting) but that ice pack and laying back at an angle is everything relief can be, at least for me personally. I'm very surprised I had to actively ASK for ice packs in the hospital; I wouldn't have thought to do so if I hadn't had a friend go through the same surgery and clue me in. Just remember the main thing about these surgeries is that there's a short road from your mouth to your belly afterward, and it has what I call a 'valve' toward the top of your stomach. You literally have to treat your belly like you would a baby and 'burp' yourself - walking helps, sitting upright and taking small sips, then rocking back and forth helps - but do NOT try to add more fluid until the tightness in your chest is relieved by a burp. It's like pumping gas into a car or like I said - burping a baby. There's a short tube from mouth to stomach and it only holds a few ounces. Until you burp and that tightness around your chest fades with the fluid being allowed to flow into your belly it literally is at maximum and efforts to drink more WILL make it come back up. I even waited to sip fluids if I knew I had to take medicine soon, to make sure I left room for the fluid it would take to get the pills down. Hopefully this helps you or someone else in recovery! I learned my lesson the first night after my surgery, one week ago - and the reflux / sicking up when I tried to go too fast did NOT feel good. I also 100% recommend getting up and slowly walking around as SOON as you can. THAT is what will make the pain start diminishing, because it rocks your body and works the gas they pumped in you for surgery back out. Best wishes! I hope it's going great for you! (ETA - Also, best wishes to your husband! I hope you two have someone on hand to help you out during your recoveries, and I will tell you from experience that it probably will feel like you're dropping more on the floor than ever before, simply because leaning down to pick it up would be painful! It requires discipline, especially if you tend toward being OCD like me, but trust me when I say trying to bend over to pick up a dropped 'whatever' is usually NOT worth it. Hugging an ice pack to your abdomen while you walk also helps tremendously at first.)

Hey everyone! I really wanted to reply to everyone individually but I ended up just running out of energy - but reading your replies it made me feel a lot more confident in what I am doing. I appreciate all of your advice. I had my 8 week post-op appointment with my bariatric nurse, and she did say that I am probably eating too little, and this could be being driven by the fact I am not drinking enough. So, goals going forward is to drink more water, and to have breakfast! I feel good overall though, dizziness seems to have stopped 🤞 I just need to find some low sugar snacks to bring with me for my tattoo appointments on Tues & Thurs...hmm...

Idk why it doesn’t feel as bad but I can tell you that just a little applesauce wouldn’t be enough for me to take my vitamin either. The best thing I found to take it until several months out when I could eat a little more was a protein shake. Just be sure to take it AFTER you have consumed the ENTIRE shake. I took it after half and even 2/3 and it came right back up. Also, it’s usually the iron in the vitamin that causes the issue so some people have to get one without iron and take their iron separate.

One of my favorite resources is Dr. Weiner's videos (as well as his book The Pound of Cure and his weekly podcast). He talks about the type of food we eat being more important than the number of calories we eat. Here is one video that I watch probably once a month just to get it into my head. But he has hundreds of videos, so I encourage you to check out all of the playlists on his channel. Having said that, there's a good chance you're in a stall as opposed to being done. Your BMI is low enough now that you're approaching "normal weight" and weight loss at that point gets really slow and difficult. But it doesn't mean you can't do it!

I'm the same way, one little off step for me is a slippery mountain. Knowing this I am very regimented, I have a schedule/routine for taking my vitamins etc., it becomes muscle memory for me that way. One "just this time" and I start sliding full clip. Unfortunately, it IS a full time job, but as the saying goes the best for your future is to be your own boss - you never get rich working for others. Work towards your health and future. This is how I put myself on a routine: 1. Purchased a "Hidrate Spark" (water bottle that lights up to remind me to drink with an app to track and also remind me) annoying but it helps. 2. Purchased a 4 times a day 7 days a week vitamin container that I have set up with reminders on my phone I put right next to my coffeemaker. I used Velcro to attach it to my phone case. Its always with me. 3. A picture of myself on my frig/cabinets at my heaviest to remind me why. 4. Remove ALL temptations from the house. My husband wants junk food he goes out. Lastly, I hate hate working out so I purchased a weight vest and weight gloves which I wear all the time as I'm cleaning, walking etc. I also, IF I want a "treat" (Yasso Greek yogurt ice cream bar) or a no sugar fudgcicle I do some squats, leg lifts before I treat myself etc.. Just remember its baby steps, if I deny myself all at once I become resentful and angry. So, start with one improvement and do it consistently until you no longer have to remind yourself or you do it regularly then add the next health improvement to your routine. If I can do it, YOU can do it. I come from an entire family of smackers and grazers who are all thin - I recognize its a battle, unfortunately now its a lifetime battle and I finally decided being thin is soooooooo much better than being fat so I strap on my warrior armor and do what I have to do. Ask yourself what YOU want out of life and win the battle - period!

I'm doing okay here. Eating the past few days has been blah. No matter what I eat, I'm uncomfortable afterward—nausea, heaviness, or pain. I know I need to slow down! Sometimes, I let myself get too hungry. Then I'm so looking forward to eating and it's not a pleasant experience. It's weird! Right now, I'm staring at the food left on my plate, and I want so badly to eat it, but my chest is heavy and sore, and it feels like food is backing up. I'm grateful that the scale has moved every week—sometimes not much, but it moves. I'm not looking forward to stalls, even though I expect them to happen. I'm almost under that 200 mark and hope to get there in the next week or two! We all need to hang in there!!!

Hurray! My endoscopy was a success today 😊 No pain, no memory, no issues, all clear ready for the next step on my bariatric surgery. I’m thankful that I was put in for today’s list after someone cancelled as I was told that it was normally a 6 month wait as they on have 1 list per week for deeper sedation with only 4 patients on said list. Here’s a turn up for the books - the snotty Sister from yesterday’s phone-call was at the sister hospital today and sought me out to apologise to me 😮 To say I was surprised is an understatement but I’ve accepted her apology and I’m moving on. Thanks for all the support yesterday. It meant the world to me and showed me that I wasn’t being unreasonable. 💜

I'd personally let it continue. Most of us have a rebound gain after we hit bottom - 10-20 lbs is pretty common, usually during year 3. Some people even gain more. I purposely went below my goal to account for it, and I'm really glad I did, because yep - I put on 20 lbs during year 3 (have put on about 10 more since then, which I am NOT happy about...) and yep - I looked way too skinny at my lowest weight (esp in my face), but my fat shifted around after awhile and I looked much better. Then the gain started...I sure as heck don't look too skinny now!

I lost 79 pounds in 4 months. That averages out to roughly 20 pounds per month, or 5 pounds per week. I was 388 on surgery day. You're doing great. Don't compare yourself to others. Rome wasn't built in a day, so just stick to the diet, move your body, and you'll get there.

I'm further out, so what you will be able to eat right after and what I can eat now are pretty far apart. What I can eat now, 1 year post revision surgery, is what I consider a normal amount. For example, last night for dinner, I had 2 chicken drum sticks, 1/2 a cup of french cut green beans, and 1/2 cup sauteed squash. It was delicious and I was satisfied and between comfortable and full. I ate that at 6pm and had my final snack at 9pm, which was a small handful (maybe 12 or 14) of lightly salted almonds and 7 colby jack cheese cubes. And I went to bed at 10pm. For breakfast this morning I had a 2 egg omelet with colby jack cheese and half a sliced avocado with my mushroom coffee. For my first snack of the day, I'm having strawberries and blueberries (about a half a cup of each) and a vanilla protein smoothie (mostly just because I find them yummy for a snack sometimes). For lunch I'm having a salad with cucumbers (3 sliced cut in half), bacon bits (just a small sprinkle), sliced grilled chicken (3 strips cut in half), spinach and romaine lettuce (about a cup), about half a handful of chick peas (aka garbanzo beans), and 4 tbsp of ranch dressing. No idea what I'm having beyond that today. But that gives you an idea of what is normal for me. Everyone is different, though. You have to see what will end up working for your body, your lifestyle, and your needs. It'll come in time, just be patient and trust the process.

@AmberFL Congratulations on your NSV, it is certainly a massive one! Really impressive I am glad your week got off to a good start

like someone else said, only 30% of bypass patients dump, and it's not common to dump on fruit, even though it contains sugar. People who dump tend to dump on things like ice cream, cake, etc (and often they can eat SOME ice cream, etc - like maybe a few bites - but just not a lot) I'm several years out. The first few months I really only ate berries (once I was able to, that is - anything with seeds I was supposed to avoid the first few weeks post-op). I've been able to eat pretty much any fruit ever since - although sometimes acidic fruits like pineapple and citrus fruits irritate my stomach. I still eat them occasionally, though. P.S. I do know someone who dumped on pineapple once, so it IS possible to dump on fruit - but that was the only time I've ever heard of anyone dumping on fruit - so I think it's pretty uncommon.

Hmm, I don’t like purée anything so I stayed in liquids stage a full 4 weeks. As long as I was on liquids, the BMs were liquid too and would announce themselves with surprise. I got regular and less liquidy with more solid foods and the introduction of magnesium and probiotics at night. My son says the RNY caused me to make the paint peel in the bathroom, (mom eye roll here)There seems to be more unpredictability for relatives and friends with Crohn’s or cancer. I wonder if it’s because of sections removed lower on the intestines? DS and RNY seems to effect the first part of the small intestine.

I have just found this site today. I had my gastric sleeve May 21 thought I was doing ok but see others are zooming way ahead of me. I have lost 10.7 kg since surgery (exactly 6 weeks ago). I only lost 400 grams on my liver reduction diet. According to weight charts, I need to lose 80 kg more, but I would be thrilled with 63kg. I am currently 137.9 kg.

Thank you! Now I know what LSD means in this regards (Lol) Thank you for the encouragement not to go back to smoking! I definitely still have some psychological dependency on it, even after going the four months without thanks to my Chantix! I notice I start to crave a cigarette when I see someone smoking when I'm late to take it and have to watch myself and prompty redirect and go take a Chantix. I did get my insurance confirmation just a few days ago in the mail and took it with my to my pre-op appointment yesterday; I offered it to them but they said they already had it! (Which is a huge relief!) Yeah; I was kind of surprised as well that I have to start the colace with my liquid diet, seems redundant and makes me wonder what that week is going to be like, honestly! I'm forseeing a lot of time spent near or in the bathroom, as it stands >. The nurse yesterday did my EKG the same way, under one breast, and they seemed to have trouble getting a good reading because I had to stay SUPER still. They also had to jab me 5 times to get the blood they needed; I was patient and know my veins can be tricky but ngl - I feel like a human pincushion today and have multiple bruises on my arms. I was simply received when they finally managed to get the needle in a vein! They also were telling me to stop taking my vitamins like, yesterday, and I thought I was supposed to keep up with them until I START the liquid diet, Calling my surgeon's office to get clarification on that today. I'm certainly nervous and excited about how quickly this is FINALLY coming together! I read that eating lots of jell-o keeps up the illusion of fullness and I'm counting on that and the 'strained cream soup' to keep me from feeling famished. Crossing my fingers I don't turn into an angry hungry hyena this next week for the sake of my family! I'm also a bit uneasy about whether I'll be able to keep enough in my system to keep my meds from making me queasy. Wishing us the best of luck!

when you are 3 years out eating every 3 hours can be dangerous as the amount you can eat has increased quite dramatically compared to 12 months out

@Greekmom4 glad to hear you are doing well and feeling calm. I am the day after you and I start my liquid diet tomorrow as well. I changed my plan a bit to do my grocery order tomorrow so if they don’t have my Shakes I have time to order them. I am supposed to be two nights in hosptial but that’s what they said for my sleeve too but sent me home the next day. I didn’t get any perishable stuff for my purée stage because mine doesn’t start till day 10. I did add it to my Walmart cart though so I can pick it up or send my husband if I’m not up to it. I planned to just chill today and go get a pedicure but I am apparently on an organizing kick because I lost track of time and spent most of the day cleaning and organizing my utility room. Thats okay. I did my nails myself. Left them natural but manicured them so I’m good. . I have a trunk full of donations to drop off on the way to the grocery but that’s about it for tomorrow. Tuesday I just plan to do last minute things like change the bedding and put things out that I may need when I get home so I. don’t have to try to explain where they are if I’m in pain and need help. And if I’m able to get up myself they are within reach so I don’t strain too much. Tuesday night I want to get to bed early if I can since I have to wake up at 3:30 am. For someone who has pretty severe anxiety I’m surprisingly calm too. I Finally feel prepared and that helps me quite a bit to stay chill. I am sure that Tuesday night I will be a little anxious but I think I would be a little odd if I wasn’t.

As others have said, I felt absolutely no hunger after surgery. I got a little tired of the same flavors every day and kind of missed chewing, but I wasn't hungry. I even had to go back on liquids for a few more weeks because of some vomiting issues and it was fine. For resting, the first couple days home I rested a lot. I would bring a big tumbler of water and a premade protein shake into the living room and just sit and watch TV and nap when I needed. That passed quickly and the pain was mostly gone within a few days. You will be amazed how quickly you are feeling back to normal. You've got this!

The thing that scares me about staying away from the scale. Is that I did that while I was 300lbs because if I didn't know my weight then I wasn't gaining so it didn't matter, I am a size 4 right now which is INSANE, so I really couldn't imagine myself losing anymore weight anyways but I was hoping for the last 2.4lbs dang nabbit! I am not mentally prepared for the scale to go up let alone 4lbs in less than a week. Thank you so much for the words, it has helped. I know it cannot be me. Its just really disheartening to see it going up almost every day

If you feel hungry grab a tsp of peanut butter. It helps and you get some protein. Dietitian just told me that yesterday I am 4 weeks post op

i know several people who are on or HAVE been on Ozempic (including me**)...all of them lost weight in varying degrees...all with different starting weights. but they all did lose weight and it was noticable (to me). from what i can observe, the ones who stopped taking it gained the weight they lost back eventually. the ones who are still on it seem to maintain the weight loss. **i tried ozempic last year for fun/testing as my mom is prescribed it for diabetes and she had some surplus. I used it for a month at the lowest dose, and by the end of it i lost almost 8 lbs (and my starting weight was like 120 so that was actually quite a lot for my size). i stopped taking it because really, i didn't need it and just wanted to see what the fuss was about anyway. within a 2-3 months i gained back 5-6 lbs of the inital loss. so end net result was minimal (for me). in summary: - it works, but it seems you have to keep taking it indefinitely for long term maintenance. - it is expensive, so keep that im mind. - im my experience (and the general consensus of those i know who take it), part of its charm/workablitiy is because you basically don't want to eat when you are on it. so when you get off it, you want to eat again. - if you have the means and desire and accesss you could try it and see for yourself...the initial weight loss may even be a mental boost to inspire you do more on your own? good luck!

Thank you for saying that! I worry that I eat too much, I too, eat every 1.5-2hrs small meals and my days are long. I also feel like all I do is think about food, and think about my next work out instead of enjoying what I look like. I think its become an unhealthy obsession. My cravings for sweets are coming back full force. Last night I ended up drinking a zero sugar Nestle hot chocolate 2tb for 25 cal with unsweetened almond milk and hot water so iI would refrain from eating Ben & Jerrys ice cream that's in the freezer. I have found myself with a TBL measuring spoon eating 1 or 2 different flavors. Then I freak out and weigh myself. Or the kids are eating M&M's ill grab 1 or 2. My restriction is not fierce even though I wish it was! I have only overate 1x and I haven't felt that feeling again and never want to, which is why I stick to small meals. No more than 3-4oz total. I was at 1000 cal for a couple of months it wasn't till recently I creeped up to 1300 but my body seems to be happier here. Last couple of days I have been eating 1450-1500 and still lost a lb. I do track everything even my little bites, licks and tastes but ya know they aren't super accurate. *sigh* I am an overthinker and this is not the first time I have lost 100lbs (did it with Weight Watchers in my 20's before having kids) and I gained my weight back after a year so I can't get out of my own head.

@ShoppGirl I can say that I was really losing my patience yesterday. I don't know if the pre-op diet had anything to do with my mood though. Saturday, I was out for 8 hours and prepped my food pretty well but it still threw me off. Sunday, I was replacing flooring in one of our bedrooms and did a better job at keeping up on food, but still did not get all my food in for the day. Today is day 6 of my pre-op diet. I have one week until my surgery and I'm actually getting more nervous about what I will eat after surgery. I have a coworker that had the VGS and she has been encouraging me. I like to plan and it is hard to plan when I don't know what or how much I will be able to eat, or what I will even be able to tolerate. For everyone that was talking about crocheting, I think that is great. I have zero talent with crochet, believe me I have tried to learn and it is useless. lol When is everyone else's surgery dates and have you begun your pre-op diet yet? Happy Monday!

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.

At 3 months out, I'm still between 1/2 cup to a cup per meal, depending on what it is. Thinner and wetter dishes are better tolerated for me; if I have a 2oz turkey burger patty, I can eat one or two bites of cooked vegetables -- but if I have that same amount of patty with gravy or ground up in a stew/chili/etc, I can stomach a bit more veg. At 2 months -- and even now at 3 -- the texture of food seems to affect me more than the quantity. Anything too dry (including both white and dark poultry for some reason) induces vomiting and/or dumping syndrome. Egg whites. Even when I think it's moist, often my body argues back and proves me wrong. I've heard from so many people -- on this forum, in my program support group, from my care team -- and it will get easier and better as time goes by, both in terms of portions and foods becoming less irritating, usually around the 1 to 2 year mark. Some people can never go back to a few certain foods, others can eat pretty normally. Bear through it. Cater to your tummy's tantrums when you need to -- move into soft food as slowly as you need to. Make your meal half puree and half soft if it helps (pureed sweet potato or really well mashed cauliflower/potato is a great side dish to help your protein get down).