I"m new to this so I think I posted this in the wrong place previously. Surgery was 6/8. I drink 2 premier protein shakes and 1 premier protein drink a day. When I try to eat it seems like it gets stuck and I've thrown up 2x. I'm not getting the 600 calories that they say I need but I am getting 80 grams of protein daily. I've only lost 20 lbs and I think it should be more with getting so little in calories. I can't get much water down because I cannot stand it.

What are you guys eating /drink on a typical day? Any advice is welcome as I think I'm doing this all wrong...

Although I've never seen any actual medical research to back this up, just from hanging around on this and other bariatric internet forums for the last 5-6 years, I'd say the average bariatric patient loses 15-25 lbs the first month. I think we go into it expecting more because of shows like "My 600 lb Life". You have to remember that those people are NOT normal bariatric patients. In fact, I've been working with pre-op groups for the last four years, and I've never seen anyone near that big in the pre-op classes. Most of us are between 200-450 lbs. And as you've probably heard, starting BMI is one of the factors that affects your rate of weight loss. So although you will see some people who lose 30+ lbs the first month, they're the exception. Most of the people who lose that much start out much heavier than the majority of us.

I started out at over 300 lbs and lost 16 lbs the first month, if that makes you feel any better...

also, I should add that rate of weight loss doesn't really affect your ultimate result - your level of commitment to your program does.

I'm down 21 pounds in the first month and I'm really pleased. My intake varies from 400-600 calories a day with three protein drinks. I'm sick of the protein drinks but can move onto pureed so hope to get my protein from other sources now. Be happy with the 20lbs!

How much weight you lose is incredibly variable. As catwoman7 says, people who start heavier lose faster. Men usually lose faster than women. People also tend to lose slower if they lost a lot of weight pre-op because a lot of the initial weight loss in any diet is water and sugar and fat stored in your liver. This will be at least 2 lbs, but up to 10 lbs of the initial weight you lose, and happens pretty quickly in a week or two. If you did a pre-op diet, you already lost that 'easy' weight, so it doesn't come off so quickly post-op.

Still - 20 lbs in 3.5 weeks is a resounding success for just about anyone. If it's all fat, that corresponds to about a 3,000 calorie deficit a day. If you're hardly eating anything now - that's actually a little faster than you'd expect from doing the math, unless you're a super muscly weight lifter with a fast metabolism.

For comparison, I lost 15 lbs in the same time period. I started out at 210 lbs, 5'5'', 40 year old woman. Now 4 months out I am losing about 1.5-2 lbs a week. WLS isn't about losing weight super fast - it's about losing it permanently!

Also, I can really sympathize with your feeling that it is hard to swallow anything - like it kind of gets stuck. It felt like that for me for about 1-2 months. It slowly got better over time, and I was able to take bigger and bigger swallows until it finally went away completely. I think it has to do with the swelling around the incisions on your stomach. That will get better soon.

I had surgery the same day you did. I've lost 21. My surgery weight was 209 and I weighed 188 this morning. The last two weeks have been slowing going. I'm 34, 5'0, my heaviest weight was 219. I understand the frustration but I just keep trudging along. I can't stomach any more protein shakes!!! I've been managing to get most of my protein in with food now. If you'd like a buddy on this journey I'm more than willing!

For the first week or two after surgery, I was lucky to get down 2 protein drinks. Just stay hydrated. I wasn't up to 60 gm of protein until week 3. Drink, walk and heal. The other goals will come but not right away.

I"m new to this so I think I posted this in the wrong place previously. Surgery was 6/8. I drink 2 Premier Protein shakes and 1 premier Protein Drink a day. When I try to eat it seems like it gets stuck and I've thrown up 2x. I'm not getting the 600 calories that they say I need but I am getting 80 grams of Protein daily. I've only lost 20 lbs and I think it should be more with getting so little in calories. I can't get much Water down because I cannot stand it.

What are you guys eating /drink on a typical day? Any advice is welcome as I think I'm doing this all wrong...

I drink Gatorade Zero to help get my fluids in. Little sips all day. I can drink LS Chicken broth and eat SF Jell-O to help with that too. Also, I was told to get the powder form of protein, because there is too much filler in the premade shakes and it's not the whey isolate protein that I need in the beginning. You actually have to drink more of the premade to get the amount of grams of protein. I used 1 scoop of Isopure to 4-6 oz. of skim plus milk. It's 25 gms. I think it's 11 oz. for 30 gms. in the premade shakes. I did get tired of the flavor, so I am expecting an order today of the variety pack of Syntrax Nectar just to switch it up. My nutritionist said the first ingredient needs to be whey protein isolate not concentrate. Do you have a nutritionist you can talk to about what else you can eat/drink?