Hi everyone, I got a vsg in late May 2019, so it's been 6 months or so now, and I feel I did not make the most of the first 6 months. I healed remarkably well, and was able to tolerate all foods , and I had no discomfort or complications.

My problems started when shortly before surgery, I started to worry that I would not get enough nutrients, and would become ill. I have young children and my main reason for wanting to lose weight is to be around for a long time for them. So for this reason I put more of the focus on eating healthier things. I did all my protein shakes, but I also spent a lot of time making green juices with no fruit and blending up greens. I took extra supplements such as turmeric and fish oil and a few other things. The first month or so I felt great, and looked better than ever, I felt like I was glowing with health, but I was chronically hungry from the start. I thought the best thing might be to add a lot of fat from natural sources like from avocados and meats and nut Butters and found that no matter what I did I was chronically hungry unless I ate that good amount of fat, I would wake up in the middle of the night looking for food to eat.

Eventually I started adding in carbohydrates like breads, and found that I can eat a fair amount of them even though I know I should not be. I know that this is not the recommended diet, but I had a 1 meeting lesson on how to eat. Kaiser met with with a group of us patients pre-surgery and sent us home with a one-page quiz that we were asked to fill out and email a copy of to the nutritionist in order to schedule a surgery. There were no nutrition classes.

I am an adult and I can research these things for myself, and I know I should have been eating things like protein and vegetables all along, but due to my fear if not getting enough nutrients, I fear I may have sabotaged my weight loss. I feel great and extremely healthy otherwise. No hair loss and no vitamin deficiencies. All 6 month bloodwork was excellent. My weight loss has been very slow. I went into surgery weighing 258lb, and today I weigh 225 .

My question is about maximizing the first 6 months which I hear is so very important. Well, those six months are gone now, and I want to really make the most of this weight loss surgery. What would you all recommend as far as getting back on track in the healthiest way possible, and have I blown it I not maximizing that six months?

Now that it's been about 6 months will I start to get even hungrier?

Thanks so much for reading,and I look forward to your responses.

21 minutes ago, Flowerlove said:

My question is about maximizing the first 6 months which I hear is so very important. Well, those six months are gone now, and I want to really make the most of this weight loss surgery.

You can definitely lose weight after that. Eat less calories than your body needs and you're going to lose weight, even if you're several years out.

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What would you all recommend as far as getting back on track in the healthiest way possible, and have I blown it I not maximizing that six months?

I'm hesitant to recommend anything. Do you continue to lose weight? What's your level of satisfaction so far? Would you be satisfied if your weight loss would e. g. continue over the next two years at this rate?

everyone always says to kick start weight loss go back to "plan" meaning get in all of your protein first, have less than 30g net carbs a day and remember veggies ARE carbs so cut out breads etc. Before and post surgery when I have my protein first i get STUFFED. You WILL feel full if you have your protein first. Don't have as much Fat and get in 90g of protein a day and 80oz of water or more and you will lose weight. Also try intermittent fasting.

Also the fear of not enough nutrients is unfounded as long as you take your vitamins.

35 minutes ago, summerset said:

You can definitely lose weight after that. Eat less calories than your body needs and you're going to lose weight, even if you're several years out.

I'm hesitant to recommend anything. Do you continue to lose weight? What's your level of satisfaction so far? Would you be satisfied if your weight loss would e. g. continue over the next two years at this rate?

I'm very happy that I've lost the amount of weight I've lost since I feel so much better. I continue to lose about two lb per month.

I would be happy if it continued on this way for a couple of years, but I'm worried that it's going to stop all together.

19 minutes ago, Serengirl said:

everyone always says to kick start weight loss go back to "plan" meaning get in all of your Protein first, have less than 30g net carbs a day and remember veggies ARE carbs so cut out breads etc. Before and post surgery when I have my protein first i get STUFFED. You WILL feel full if you have your protein first. Don't have as much Fat and get in 90g of protein a day and 80oz of Water or more and you will lose weight. Also try intermittent fasting.

Thank you so much this is simple yet good advice.

19 minutes ago, Serengirl said:

Also the fear of not enough nutrients is unfounded as long as you take your Vitamins.

My concern was a deficiency of the thousands of micronutrients found in fruits and vegetables that I can no longer fit in my reduced portion size, and that's why the juicing and blending of green vegetables came into the picture. It just didn't seem right to replace all those nutrients with protein alone. I know vitamins are wonderful, but supplements are only a few vitamins and in isolation from various other cofactors found in nature.

This is my understanding of it anyway

Thanks again.❤

I think we're all different honestly. And you have to do what you know is right. I would try to see if I could find some balance due to your fear.

I would:

Only have 1 green smoothie a day (if you feel you must). Pack it with a scoop of protein powder, 1oz of avocado, 2oz of deep dark greens, psyllium husks, 1oz of blueberries (or other deep berry), liquid stevia, 28g Greek yogurt (plain) and thin it down with ice and either Fairlife Fat Free Milk or unflavored almond or cashew milk (not as much protein).

Then for lunch, I'd have raw veggies in a salad or with my 2-3oz of protein + raw veggies. Use a Greek yogurt (plain) dip with Ranch seasoning if you need. Thin it with Fairlife Fat Free Milk. Include 1oz of avocado and a very very very light oil. I used 3 zeros Italian or Greek (zero cal dressing) or Walden Farms zero cal dressing. I would add 5g of pumpkin seeds or 10g of some kind of nut. That way you are getting plenty of fat for fat soluble vitamin absorption.

Then for dinner, I'd have 3-4oz of protein + 1-2oz al dente steamed veg + 1oz avocado + 1oz grape tomatoes.

I would drop everything else. Your hunger should come under control in 3-4 days from now.

I would try to get in a range of 700-800 cals per day. I lost best around 650-700 cals and carbs at 30g net or below per day.

At the rate you are going, I honestly believe you will stop losing well before you are finished or should be finished. You need to up your speed and you are right to feel concern. You are mainlining sugar into your body with all your juicing and smoothies. And just quit the grains. No one needs em. Frankly. If they are causing your weight loss to slow so significantly and causing so much hunger, you clearly as an individual cannot handle them right now. Maybe for maintenance, but the question should ALWAYS be:

How did your meal xy or z make you feel 1 hour after eating, 2 hours after eating, the next morning. How long was it before you felt hunger cues.

By now, you should be able to go 3-4 hours minimum between meals. If you cannot, you are having blood sugar roller coasters and those are very bad for all of us.

Hope that helps. It's not too late to restart your plan!!!! Choose to do it today!

12 minutes ago, FluffyChix said:

I think we're all different honestly. And you have to do what you know is right. I would try to see if I could find some balance due to your fear.

I would:

Only have 1 green smoothie a day (if you feel you must). Pack it with a scoop of Protein Powder, 1oz of avocado, 2oz of deep dark greens, psyllium husks, 1oz of blueberries (or other deep berry), liquid stevia, 28g Greek yogurt (plain) and thin it down with ice and either Fairlife Fat Free Milk or unflavored almond or cashew milk (not as much protein).

Then for lunch, I'd have raw veggies in a salad or with my 2-3oz of Protein + raw veggies. Use a Greek yogurt (plain) dip with Ranch seasoning if you need. Thin it with Fairlife Fat Free Milk. Include 1oz of avocado and a very very very light oil. I used 3 zeros Italian or Greek (zero cal dressing) or Walden Farms zero cal dressing. I would add 5g of pumpkin seeds or 10g of some kind of nut. That way you are getting plenty of fat for fat soluble Vitamin absorption.

Then for dinner, I'd have 3-4oz of protein + 1-2oz al dente steamed veg + 1oz avocado + 1oz grape tomatoes.

I would drop everything else. Your hunger should come under control in 3-4 days from now.

I would try to get in a range of 700-800 cals per day. I lost best around 650-700 cals and carbs at 30g net or below per day.

At the rate you are going, I honestly believe you will stop losing well before you are finished or should be finished. You need to up your speed and you are right to feel concern. You are mainlining sugar into your body with all your juicing and smoothies. And just quit the grains. No one needs em. Frankly. If they are causing your weight loss to slow so significantly and causing so much hunger, you clearly as an individual cannot handle them right now. Maybe for maintenance, but the question should ALWAYS be:

How did your meal xy or z make you feel 1 hour after eating, 2 hours after eating, the next morning. How long was it before you felt hunger cues.

By now, you should be able to go 3-4 hours minimum between meals. If you cannot, you are having blood sugar roller coasters and those are very bad for all of us.

Hope that helps. It's not too late to restart your plan!!!! Choose to do it today!

Thank you so much! This sounds like great advice and quite manageable.

I'll definitely give it a try. I do believe my blood sugar need more stabilization although I'm not diabetic.

Agree with above advice. Let me also stess the need to cut your grain carbs for the time being. The grain carbs will raise your glucose levels which in turn causes your insulin to shoot up. The insulin drives the blood sugar down and then you are hungry again. This can cycle all through the day. Cut out the grains and never eat fruit without the protection of protein. A little fruit is fine in a protein smoothie, or as dessert with some yogurt at the END of a meal. But not as a snack.

Ok, For part two: EVERY time you eat, insulin levels increase. Insulin drives calories into fat storage. The more often you eat or snack, the more insulin you have floating around, doing it's dirty work to store fat and not allow fat burning. You have to limit your meals to 3 a day with NO snacking. Just doing this alone (along with eliminating grain and minimizing fruit) will take the pounds off.

If you want to amp it up even more, give yourself an 8-10 hour window to eat each day. Only eat your nutritious food during this window. This is one form of intermediate fasting (most people skip an early morning meal and start around noon.) It is very powerful and kicks you into a fat burning mode. Do your exercise routine during this fasting time, and you will get even more benefit.

I am also very nutrition conscious. I was not allowed to eat any form of veggies for 8 WEEKS post op!!!!! I have a large organic garden, and this was just torture! (I ended up making filtered greens water that I added to everything. My doc was mad at first, but I showed him that it was CLEAR and was a heck of lot better than Crystal Light, Gatorade, pop-sickles, or any other artificial "food."). Anyway, you have to follow the plan and get your protein in first. Then add all the veggies you want (except starchy ones.)

At 6 months, I was still only eating about 600 cal/day. But I made every bite count for optimal nutrition and my 6 month labs came back great. Do not worry about becoming nutrient deficient at this point. Your labs were fine and you can eat plenty of phyto-nutrient dense foods now. But you still have to get your protein in to protect your muscle mass. Sometimes overeating is from fear of malnutrition, resulting in OVER eating. An overweight person is NOT well nourished - they are over nourished, which leads to a host of other serious problems.

You can do this. The "honeymoon" period can last a lot longer than 6 months. You haven't lost the opportunity to maximize the next 6 months. The whole first year is really important and now that you can eat more "real" foods, you should not worry at all about nutrition if you are eating a healthy balance.

6 hours ago, Flowerlove said:

Hi everyone, I got a vsg in late May 2019, so it's been 6 months or so now, and I feel I did not make the most of the first 6 months. I healed remarkably well, and was able to tolerate all foods , and I had no discomfort or complications.

My problems started when shortly before surgery, I started to worry that I would not get enough nutrients, and would become ill. I have young children and my main reason for wanting to lose weight is to be around for a long time for them. So for this reason I put more of the focus on eating healthier things. I did all my Protein Shakes, but I also spent a lot of time making green juices with no fruit and blending up greens. I took extra supplements such as turmeric and fish oil and a few other things. The first month or so I felt great, and looked better than ever, I felt like I was glowing with health, but I was chronically hungry from the start. I thought the best thing might be to add a lot of fat from natural sources like from avocados and meats and nut Butters and found that no matter what I did I was chronically hungry unless I ate that good amount of fat, I would wake up in the middle of the night looking for food to eat.

Eventually I started adding in carbohydrates like breads, and found that I can eat a fair amount of them even though I know I should not be. I know that this is not the recommended diet, but I had a 1 meeting lesson on how to eat. Kaiser met with with a group of us patients pre-surgery and sent us home with a one-page quiz that we were asked to fill out and email a copy of to the nutritionist in order to schedule a surgery. There were no nutrition classes.

I am an adult and I can research these things for myself, and I know I should have been eating things like Protein and vegetables all along, but due to my fear if not getting enough nutrients, I fear I may have sabotaged my weight loss. I feel great and extremely healthy otherwise. No Hair loss and no Vitamin deficiencies. All 6 month bloodwork was excellent. My weight loss has been very slow. I went into surgery weighing 258lb, and today I weigh 225 .

My question is about maximizing the first 6 months which I hear is so very important. Well, those six months are gone now, and I want to really make the most of this weight loss surgery. What would you all recommend as far as getting back on track in the healthiest way possible, and have I blown it I not maximizing that six months?

Now that it's been about 6 months will I start to get even hungrier?

Thanks so much for reading,and I look forward to your responses.

Can you find anything to eliminate that is unnecessary from your lifestyle?

9 hours ago, Flowerlove said:

but supplements are only a few vitamins and in isolation from various other cofactors found in nature.

This is why I take a more expensive supplement. It's made from the whole fruits and vegetables so there should also be phytonutrients included.

9 hours ago, Flowerlove said:

I would be happy if it continued on this way for a couple of years, but I'm worried that it's going to stop all together.

You could always go lower with intake then and/or up your exercise when you notice that weight loss has stopped.

However, it's always the choice of the patient which route to take (slow/steady or fast/over with it) though I sometimes think that it's not really a choice but the patient needs to choose what he/she can live best with.

5 hours ago, summerset said:

You could always go lower with intake then and/or up your exercise when you notice that weight loss has stopped.

However, it's always the choice of the patient which route to take (slow/steady or fast/over with it) though I sometimes think that it's not really a choice but the patient needs to choose what he/she can live best with.

Thank you. I wonder about that because even in the very beginning, when I was on liquids, the weightloss was slow. I hit my first stall after 2 weeks, and it lasted for 3 weeks. I think I may be a slow loser in general.

Im fine with that as long as I'm headed in the right direction and my health is great. I would be pretty unhappy if my weightloss stopped and I hovered around the 200 pound mark though.

9 hours ago, GreenTealael said:

Can you find anything to eliminate that is unnecessary from your lifestyle?

Yes, I can think of a few things. This is important to think about, because if they are unnecessary, then I should eliminate those things first.

Thanks for all the advice.

I've been very mindful of the amount of protein I'm eating over the past few days, and was surprised to see that I'm not eating enough protein. I'm getting perhaps 30 - 40 grams of protein a day. What an eye opener!

It is no wonder that I've been so hungry all the time. I think I will just have to eliminate many things and focus on increasing the protein for now. I'm tempted to start the mornings with a protein shake while I sort out the situation and get my diet on track.