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6’4” here. I was 400-500 for the first several months, lost really fast. I’m one year post op, below the arbitrary goal by quite a bit and having a hard time finding a maintenance calorie count I can manage. I’m up to 1800-2000 by using food I never thought I would eat again to keep volume low but calories high and finally seem to be stabilizing. It’s the first week I haven’t lost but I also haven’t pooped in five days (this has been typical for me for the past year). I seem to be in a cycle of not going, using epsom salt to vacate the inner tubes and then weighing and using that as my weekly gauge to see where I really am. But to answer your question 2000 and if I’m maintaining it’s very close.

Honestly, I'm glad I am not alone. I am 5 weeks post op. I returned to work last week. Since going back, I have struggled with the shakes, water and the inability to eat any of the things I am supposed to be "Trying". Yesterday, at work, I tried to eat a few bites of grated turkey. I guess i ate it too fast. After 3 bites, I feel like it got stuck. It was horrible for about 3 hours. I think we just need to go back to the basics. 1) drink the water first, the 2) get in the protein via shakes and 3) if there is any time left...some of the other things we are supposed to ne eating. I am struggling so hard after going back to work. We just need to stay positive and remember why we did this.

I eat lots of meat. Ground beef, deer, pork, chicken, etc. Been doing so since going to soft food. Started out with chili, shredded chicken and pork. I cook it in my electic pressure cooker. Fast, and tender. Like it's been cooking all day. I still have trouble with overcooked meats.

I finally bit the bullet and decided to try going to a restaurant yesterday for lunch with my mom. We were at the mall and ended up at Red Robin. I have been there a bunch of times before surgery and knew that had some healthy options. When the waitress came to take our drink order I let her know I do not want anything. My mom orders iced tea. She comes back to the table with my moms iced tea and a big glass of water for me. I tell her that I didn't order any water, and could she please remove it. She gives an attitude. When she comes back for our order, I let her know that I am very nervous because it is my 1st time ordering out at a restaurant since COVID #1, and I also tell her about my surgery #2, and let her know I am nervous about ordering because I want to make sure the order is correct, as I can not eat certain things. She rolls her eyes, starts to talk really fast, and is now rushing us. Mind you there is hardly anyone in the restaurant at this time. It is after the noon time rush. She literally had only 1 other table besides ours. I decide on the Turkey Burger, ask if its grilled and she tells me yes. I let her know I am on a very strict eating plan, and can not have butter, oil, salt, etc. I want it plain and on a lettuce wrap with tomato only. She asks me if I still want the chipotle mayo and I let her know I can not do spicy anything. I ask what the side options are that are healthy and I chose broccoli. My mom orders the veggie burger with the lettuce wrap, and broccoli as well. Our food gets to the table. Mine looks great so I take a bite and burn my tongue because it had the friggin chipotle mayo I told them I did not want. I hate spicy and couldn't even do it before the surgery. Upon further investigation, I see that the tomato is missing also. My moms is in a regular bun after she told them she wanted the lettuce wrap. My mom motions to her and she clearly sees her and ignores us. We finally see the manager go by and motion to him. He comes over and we explain what is going on. We let him know about the mistakes and we just want them fixed. My mom even says that it is not the waitresses fault but probably whoever made the sandwiches. Here comes the waitress again now with our corrected order. She never apologizes, gives us a major attitude, mumbles something under her breath and walks away before we could even check our food. I double check to make sure my order is right, this time their is no mayo on it, but my tomato is missing again! OMG My moms was correct this time. I didn't even bother to ask again because at this point we just wanted to hurry up and eat and leave. Time for the check....she tells us as she is walking by in a very fast speaking tone that we can check out using the table top kiosk. My mom was buying and always uses cash, she tries getting her attention once again to ask her how does it work, as we only know it to use a card. When we look at the total we knew it was wrong because it was for 2 orders of everything we got. Now my mom is pissed (it takes a lot). She gets up and gets the manager, explains how the girl has been rude to us the entire time, orders wrong, etc. The manager tells us we owe nothing, and we ate for free. He also tells us that he is firing the waitress today. Ummmm ok that is your problem and not for our knowledge, but now at least we know why. Wow! What a bad 1st experience that was. I am afraid to try other places.

I have a hectic schedule and 2 of my 3 jobs require a lot of driving, so I sometimes have little choice about eating fast food. At Burger King I can order a Whopper junior and eat half of the bun (or less) and that works OK. At McDonalds, the same thing with a small burger (I add tomatoes to it; if you order through their app it is very easy to customize anything). Arby's roast beef is pretty good and again you can eat half the bun or none of it. I always ask for no added salt, as highly salted food really disagrees with me now and fast food places load their burgers with salt. At Wendy's, I get chili. Fries make me feel terrible and I never order them; may eat 2-3 if I'm with someone eating them. I can usually find a Panera which has good salads, or I can opt for soup there and that works too. With breakfast sandwiches, again I eat at most half of the bread and sometimes just pick out the eggs and meat. On the rare occasion that I go to a real restaurant, I will order something that is basically protein and veggies and take half of it home a lot of the time. (I had shrimp fajitas yesterday; ate all the shrimp, some of the veggies and beans, no rice or tortillas.) If there is a heavy sauce I ask for it on the side and eat very little of it. Sometimes I order an appetizer if they have something appropriate, or a salad with protein. When I am with my son, we order one appetizer and one entree that are made of things I can tolerate and I eat around 20% of each. I don't ask for "no butter" because I can tolerate that as long as the food isn't drowning in it. I find I only have to ask for no added salt at fast food or low-end restaurants; a good restaurant will use an amount of salt that's not objectionable to me. Your mileage may vary.

I started having non-cardiac chest pains less than 14 months after sleeve surgery. (surgery was June 2010) I was told I was having some sort of spasms. Medication prescribed did nothing. Fast forward to 2015, I'd gradually worked myself up to 8 - 10 Tums EVERY day. I had them in the console of the truck, next to my bed so I could turn over and get a couple in the middle of the night, almost every single night, I had another bottle in the medicine cabinet. I had NO idea it was bad to take that many. I finally went to the doctor after reading this is not good. He did a endoscopy and I have a hiatal hernia, I had a stricture and an ulcer. He put me on a prescription PPI. That was Nov 2019. It worked immediately, but only lasted about 2 months and I started needing Tums again occasionally. Now I'm eating them more often. I've had the bloating for years and occasionally have trouble swallowing. I made an appointment with a bariatric surgeon, clearly this other doctor isn't too familiar with bariatric surgery. I am hoping this new doctor will be able to help me. I've vomited every so often in the prior years, but in the past two or three weeks I've thrown up 4 times. Always in the evening after dinner. Any idea why this would start now?

I haven't gotten as far with my weight loss, I'm on week 3. However I was thinking something similar about what my life will be like without food for entertainment and bonding with others... Like what is enjoyable in my world outside of food and how to keep my activities fun and consistent.(outside of fast food)[emoji30] thanks for sharing your thoughts, I definitely feel less alone! Sent from my moto e using BariatricPal mobile app

This may seem like a strange question. I am just wondering if I need to make a special appointment with the bariatric psychologist on my team. I have lost now 60 pounds since the day of surgery RNY on February 24. Not quite 3 1/2 months yet. I feel like I’m losing weight too fast and I really don’t know how to cope with it. Everybody seems so excited and happy for me but I can’t wrap my brain around what’s happening. I did not do this for weight loss I did it for fixing severe Gerd so maybe that’s why I feel “weird”... I told my boyfriend that I just feel like I am in someone else’s body, lol 😂 The best way to explain this feeling is when something is too good to be true it almost feels skeptical - And you can’t let yourself be “happy”.... Has anybody else felt disbelief in the weight loss amount?!

I agree with others that you are doing great. 14 pounds of weight loss in two weeks is incredible. I have only lost 25 in 12 weeks but I am still steadily losing. Idk your starting BMI but based on your weight you are somewhat lower BMI and weight loss will be slower than those with higher BMI’s. Several people on here have said that they continued to lose weight for like two years so the important thing is not how fast you lost it Just the overall trend downwards. Just hang in there you will lose it.

So many times I did this, except I would vomit food and sometimes it would take hours to get it all out. I would eat too much and/or too fast. Thankfully, the tummy is much more forgiving at 11 months post-op, as I am clearly a slow learner. 😂 Eggs are still one of those things I have to be very careful with. I can only eat one at time (or two over an hour), and I have to take it slow or risk a belly ache. Hopefully you learn more quickly than I did! 😊

I’m sorry you’re struggling with these very fast changes. I hope you’re feeling supported in therapy or a strong support system.

To answer the original question: yes. I’m 7 months out, and although I’ve hand a good outcome from an objective standpoint, I regret this decision deeply. These are my reasons: 1) There’s not a day when I don’t think about how terrible my body looks. I’m currently very close to where I thought I wanted to be long term, but I can’t stand seeing myself. I’d rather look at my old self in the mirror. 2) My menstrual cycle is totally screwed up and has been ever since surgery. I was having constant periods for a while, and now I haven’t had one in 8 weeks. Totally unpredictable, and all my surgeon has to say is, “That shouldn’t Ben happening.” 3) I’m tired of being praised for how great I’m doing, how great I look, and what I eat. I don’t eat anything different than I’ve ever eaten: the amounts are just smaller. Not all fat people are fat because of pizza and fast food. Some people gain lots of weight during a period of chronic illness, and that reality is totally lost on my medical team. I’ve stopped following up with my surgeon because I’ve tried discussing how anxious our appointments make me due to all this praise she’s giving me for nothing, but she never stopped doing that even after I requested. The thought of seeing her gets me really upset, so I’ve just stopped going. I’m a healthcare provider myself, so I’m aware of that being a risky decision. 4) I’m tired of the random comments about my body from people I know as acquaintances. Losing this much weight isn’t heroic, and I don’t like it when other people refer to me in that way and with similar adjectives. 5) I hate that people treat me differently now. It’s like my worst fear has been realized: there are a lot of people who like me now only because of my smaller body size. Suddenly, I get to sit in on conversations where thin women make fun of fat women: conversations where I would’ve been the one being gossiped about a few months ago. Granted, there have been good things about it. I like being able to do more things with my body. I like having more clothing options. But that’s it. If I could, I’d take this entire decision back and be as I was before.

yes - too much or too fast. Plus, some people have a hard time with eggs the first few weeks or months after surgery, so it may have been partially that, too.

Oh, yeah, those first experiences of dumping, foamies, etc. are unforgettably bad. Every plan is different but one week after surgery & on to the soft food stage seems very fast. I mean your tummy is still healing. You have a lot of internal stitches & staples there. Most of us go to purées after liquids then soft food over about six weeks. Maybe you need to go more slowly too. Some people do need to go through the stages more slowly just like some can progress through them more quickly. Depends upon how you heal & what your tummy can tolerate. My vitamins used to make me nauseous every day & I’d experience that weird saliva vomit several times a week. It’d come on me really quickly. No pain thank goodness just oh no bathroom now. You’ll have to learn what feeling full or feeling that you’ve had enough feels like to you now - it will be different. What feeling hungry is like will be different too (real hunger versus the head hunger that used to drive us to eat). Eat slowly. It helps the message get through that you’ve had enough. If we eat too quickly, it’s often too late when the message gets through that we’ve had enough. Good luck.

It happens to me too. It also can happen if I eat too fast, even if the amount is not very much. Six months post surgery, I’m finally getting better at it 😜

Be patient... don’t rush the process.. follow everything to a tee... I am 5 yrs post op and I lost my weight wayyyyyyyy to fast and wish I lost it slower ...

Thank you! That's great advice! I do struggle with eating fast because once I start eating, I feel so hungry and your totally right...sometimes I eat so fast and I dont feel full until after im done because I didn't give my stomach time to register. I need to remember to do what I do when I go to a restaurant or when I eat out with friends or my fiance. Every time I go to a restaurant, I would feel full fast because im eating slow and because im socializing. So I just need to remember to put my folk down between bites and to stop eating when I feel full, that to me is the biggest challenge right now.

Hi, I also had my surgery close to your date(April 28). My headaches came intermittently but not often so I bought liquid Tylenol. I thought maybe it had to do with coffee withdrawals or because I can NEVER get 64 oz. Of water into a day. I then started exercising; working up a sweat and oxygenating my brain and body. Things got a lot better afterwards. Not saying this would be the problem for you but it might help to troubleshoot these things. I also noticed that I feel awful when I don't get a bowel movement as often as I feel I need it and my head starts to hurt so I use Soylent Protein drinks (just a few sips) to get things moving. You can buy on Amazon. Now that I'm ending the 5th week, I've found that just a few sips of espresso with cream helps to regulate me too. As a previously heavy coffee drinker, this has become my wonderful heavenly treat.

My surgery was 3/23. I too feel like I can eat more than I should be able to, but I definitely feel full if and when I eat too much, too fast, or God Forbid, take a sip of water before the suggested 30 minute wait time. Initially, I was losing 1 to 2 pounds a day. Then I stalled out for what seemed like 3 weeks. And then I began losing again. I've lost 16 pounds since 5/17. Oddly enough, I feel like I'm losing more now that I can eat freely. I guess my body knows I'm not in starvation mode for sure and is using the calories I consume for energy. I give it another couple of days before I finally break free of the 300s 😊 I'm so excited!

If you must eat at a fast food place, these are some of my "go too" items: McD: order just the egg from the mcmuffin, yes you can do that. Or order the sandwich and throw away the muffin. Filet of fish with no bun, or throw it away. BK: jr bacon burger, no bun Wendy's: small chili with cheese tacobell: pinto's w/cheese & a side of meat. chick fil a: yogurt parfait, side egg, chicken sandwich and throw away the bun, kid 4 piece nugget w/fruit (not fries) Cane's: i order one strip with one sauce. Chili's: my go-to is the soup that's just a few i can think of

lots of people have gone through that (luckily, I only have 10 lbs that I'd like to re-lose, but even that's been a bear!!). Are you still tracking your food intake? If not, I'd start there. And go back to following the rules - as in eating the way we were supposed to be eating once we were a few months out - focusing on protein and non-starchy vegetables, with an occasional small serving of fruit or whole-grain carb. if you're a calorie counter, then track what you're eating now (without making major changes yet) for a couple of weeks to figure out what your average daily calorie intake is. Then cut back by 100 calories or so for a couple of weeks. If that's not working, then cut by another 100 calories. Rinse and repeat until the scale starts heading downward. But know that with only 35 lbs to lose, that scale is going to move pretty slowly. You could also try drastically increasing your activity instead - or in addition - to cutting calories, although that method is usually a lot slower. a lot of people have had luck with formal programs like Weight Watchers, Keto, or intermittent fasting - so those are options as well... good luck with it - it's not easy, although it's good you're catching it now while it's still not really out of control!

I have to say, out of the surgeries I've had (c section, breast reduction, knee arthroscopy, and Loop DS), my gallbladder was the worst. The gas pain really hurt in my shoulder, and just like you said, sneezing and coughing were painful! I sure was glad to have it out and stop having the attacks, but it did hurt more than other surgeries for sure. I didn't have much pain at all from my wls, just nausea. I'm glad you are home and recovering! Sending healing vibes your way. I hope you feel better fast! Sent from my Nokia 7.2 using BariatricPal mobile app

I usually use the machines. I had to wait eight weeks before going back to it, I think. You do lose some strength in the interim, but it comes back pretty fast when you start up again.

I am almost 7 months post op, and thus far I’ve not really had any regrets. I also had concerns about all the food I was going to be giving up- truth of the matter is that I haven’t really given up anything outside of candy. Physically I’m sure I could eat it, but I made a personal choice that I have too many issues with it and I needed to leave that behind. But this last weekend I had beer and wine (albeit much less than I would ever have had before), sushi with rice, and no stomach problems at all. I’m just very mindful of portion sizes and tracking what I eat since I’m still losing. Some people end up with certain foods they can’t eat, but I didn’t. I tried to sit down pre op and think about certain foods and why I was so worried about “missing out” that I was willing to stay 340 lbs. I finally came to realize that you can’t have everything in life- of course I wanted to be a healthy weight and still be able to gorge on candy and chips and fast food without a care in the world. But that’s not how life works, and being a normal weight and able to enjoy all that life offers outside of food outweighed my desire to keep the eating habits I had.

Seth here. I just had my VSG at UC Health's West Chester Hospital (University of Cincinnati). It was on the 28th. It went well, though the surgeon told me I had an odd shaped stomach. It went would more than a banana shape. He said it should make losing weight easier for me. I was in some pain on the surgery day. They gave me pain meds just after the surgery and later that night. I did not ask for any the next day. I got up and walked around the halls quite a bit. I also drank water only. I was discharged after one night. Currently, my incisions are still sore but I do not need any pain meds. Now I am just trying to figure out what my "Full" point is. I am so worried that I will bust my staples that I am probably being way too cautious. Today, I've had about 350 calories and almost 33oz of water. I am setting an alarm every 3 hours to try and drink more slim fast advanced nutrition. I also set a timer after I drink the protein shake to make sure I do not drink for an hour afterward. I am only drinking about 1/2 of the 11oz shakes over a 30 minute period. My program only allows liquid for the first month. On 2nd month we can move to puree. The 3rd month we can eat soft foods and on month 4 we can go back to eating anything that fits into our routine. I think this is the most restrictive after surgery out there.