I had my sleeve on June 9th, and I'm struggling with low energy. I know I need to be eating more protein and moving more, but I'm having a hard time meeting the requirements. Any ideas?

I had vsg on June 30th. I’m also fatigued and uninterested in drinking my protein shakes . I found some protein water at the vitamin shoppe called isopure infusions. It’s 20 grams protein per serving. It’s helped me to switch up the flavor and consistency of protein intake.

I've added soft cheese and a scrambled egg and I feel better. They said I can reduce the protein drinks but only if I get the 70 grams in a day via combo drinks and food.

It can take some time, but also make sure you are taking your vitamins!! Took me 2 months out before I stopped needing to take naps!!

Congrats on your surgery! For some of us, it takes ages to get our energy levels up again while others seemingly are bouncing about after a week.

I took things slowly, paced myself through each stage of being more active & kept hydralite on hand for sudden energy drops. Most importantly, if my body said enough I stopped.

It will get better.

I struggled with lack of energy too, so am kind of relieved to read that it's common. I'm 5+ weeks out and it's starting to get better.

I’m 3 weeks post op and still easily get wiped out. I have days where I think I’m feeling great and take a brisk walk only to get totally exhausted. You’re not alone. Once we start getting more calories in things will improve. I’m around 500-600 a day still and it’s just not enough but I’m not interested in jumping into higher calorie meals just yet.

this is a huge problem for me because work is starting to get busy again after covid and because I was working out almost everyday prior to surgery. the two times I have attempted to do a walk, I was laying down the rest of the day, just totally zapped of energy. I haven't gotten moving ever since and am scared that if I go too long without exercise, it will get harder to get my old habit back. I worked hard pre-op to force myself to get moving for an hour everyday.

I brought up this low energy issue to my surgeon at my first post-op appointment last week. he stressed that I stay hydrated (64+ oz of water everyday). I still find it hard to meet that goal and some days I fail. he also recommended drinking things with electrolytes like gatorade 0, propel, etc..... I haven't tried this yet because it's hard enough keeping track of everything else (vitamins, protein, water, meds, food, etc...) and because I have an aversion to all this processed, pre-packaged stuff that we are somewhat forced to consume during recovery. but I am going to get some today and give it a go because I need help on this for real.

my surgeon said that even though protein is very important post-op, hydration and restoring electrolytes are also important, particularly if you are low energy, and to keep track of my fluids. with that said, he seemed to be ok with me missing protein goals as long as I was taking in a bare minimum of 50g/day (my plan calls for 64g of protein fyi, but I consider my goal met if I hit 60g tbh). it's very hard, but I just take it day by day. I started eating beans yesterday, and I think my body appreciated having some real unprocessed, nutritious food. I am hoping this helps. the whole post-op experience has been unexpectedly hard for me, but it gets a little easier everyday.

one last thing (sorry to ramble), but pay attention to what you are eating and how it affects you. I found that the few times I consumed carbs (cream of wheat and oatmeal are the only things I have tried), I was laying down the rest of the day. I used to consider carbs, especially a bowl of oatmeal, good fuel for a high intensity workout pre-op, but post-op it seems that my body says no. anyway, good luck with this. many people on these boards seem to say that they have tons of energy post-op from all the weight loss. so hopefully we will all be back to normal soon as our bodies adjust and we figure out what works for us.

Edited July 5, 20206 yr by angryspice

Thank you for all your suggestions. One more thing, how is balancing eating and drinking? I find it a bit challenging to wait 30+ minutes to drink after meals and still consume the required amounts. I’ve set timers and reminders on my phone but I still think I’m falling short of my recommended levels. I feel like I’m eating and drinking all day long.

I feel the same way. I don't really have a solution except to start as early in the day as possible, like first thing in the morning. otherwise, it's too easy to fall behind. ditto for protein.

Edited July 8, 20206 yr by angryspice

2 hours ago, angryspice said:

I feel the same way. I don't really have a solution except to start as early in the day as possible, like first thing in the morning. otherwise, it's too easy to fall behind. ditto for Protein.

I think this is probably the only way I’ll be able to stay on track -starting really early in the day. I started at almost 10am today and I am not anywhere close to meeting the fluids for the day. I’m very much different energy wise- feeling more sluggish from the late start. Gotta get back on schedule .