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Curious what changes (if any) folks made to their diet while waiting for their surgery date? I'm trying to make some changes now so adjusting to a new lifestyle won't be quite as dramatic after surgery. I want to set myself up for success as much as possible. So far I have done the following: - cut way back on my coffee (only one cup caffeinated every other day) - water intake up to 100 ounces a day - tracking my food and limiting carbs to less than 120g a day - trying to teach myself to eat 5 times a day instead of 3 (this has been a big change because I had finally gotten used to only eating 3 times a day...my new program wants folks eating 5 times a day so something is eaten every 3-4 hours) - focusing on protein first - cut fast food down to 2 times a week - cut out alcohol - adding in walks, though not consistently yet Any thing else I can do to help prepare myself more for this new lifestyle?

I have been using the small bowls and plates too. Funny thing is that it is plenty of food on those little plates!

I take Finasteride, biotin, collagen powder protein, keratin, minoxidil...I am not at the hair loss stage yet but I doing my best mitigate the loss. Not sure anything can really be done...we shall see.

Welcome! Glad you found this forum -- it has been incredibly helpful for me as I've gone through this process. There's a lot of great info and advice here! I lost about 70 pounds in the 5 months before surgery, and hands down, the best thing I did to prepare was logging everything I ate in MyFitnessPal. I think that was the key to my pre-surgery weight loss and is something I've continued since my surgery. There are other similar apps (there's one called Baritastic that's specifically made for bariatric surgery patients), but I started with MyFitnessPal and liked it, so I'm sticking with it. I think it's also a good idea to get into the habit of drinking more water and tracking your water intake (you can do that in MyFitnessPal, too). I didn't really work out before surgery, and maybe it would have helped if I had started earlier, but I started a few months after surgery and now I work out and take walks every day.

Oh my gosh!!!!! This is the BEST thing I ever did? My one regret: (and I have heard this SO many times...). I wish I would have done it sooner! I was 57 when I had the sleeve done 10 years ago. I lost 80 lbs and just in the last couple of years I have put 15-20 lbs back on which is why I am back here to figure out how to stop the gain. I went in with the mindset that this was a very exciting time in my life and I was finally going to get a handle on it and I did!!! I wrote a book called Queen of Crop where I kept a blog faithfully each week....I suggest you do as well because it will be a very exciting year for you. You will be in the Honeymoon phase for the first year....but listen and learn so you don't regain. Sadly, my surgery was very early on and I was traveling for a year so had very little (if any) follow up support so here I am fighting some weight gain. But oh, the freedom of feeling thin!!!! Good luck and have fun with it. My passport photos taken exactly one year apart!

I dump. It has taught me to careful with sugar and fats. I still have significant restriction. It has taught me to pay attention to how I eat. Malabsorption, check. So I monitor blood work and medication effectiveness. I eat to plan. It is my normal, so don't give it much thought. I'm a deliriously happy camper. There are folks in the exact same place that are miserable. Be sure of your choice and commit to dealing with whatever comes.

Hi! 

It’s been YEARS since I was on this forum! I was very active from 2014-2016. Loved the support, hated the drama. 

I had VSG in 2014 and although I was a bit on the slower side losing because I was considered a “lightweight” (ha) at my surgery weight of 235, I was very successful. My low weight was 142 for about 15 minutes, but after a little bounce weight of 10-12 pounds or so, I maintained there for several years and was even running! Me—running at almost 50 years old! I was a WLS success! 

**Record screeching noise** not so fast.....

2018: On my Quest to stay active by finding new and fun activities, I decided to get on roller skates again at 51 years old. Let’s just say that didn’t turn out so well, and an almost debilitating neck injury happened. + 15 pounds. 

2019: Strange, I’ve got blood in my pee? Lab work shows no UTI. Bladder cancer?? WTF? That’s an old man’s disease! 
+ 10 pounds 

2020: Do I even have to say it?? Oh, but I *did* manage to break my ankle in October walking my dog and was in a boot for 2 months. Also, I got Covid in December. + 10 pounds 

I’m not using life happening as excuses at all. I was fully unprepared to deal with my weight maintenance *when* life happened. It just goes to show how woefully unprepared I was with my emotional eating when the chips (along with my poor broken body) were down. I can only hope my experience can be a lesson to all either thinking about WLS, or are happily in the honeymoon phase of WLS and maintenance. 

With a little pharmaceutical help from my Primary, I’m working on going back to basics and concentrate on healthier Protein and Fiber rich options to try to lose at least 25 pounds. It can be done. I’ve seen it. 

Wish me luck! ❤️

The first 3 weeks post op were definitely the hardest for me. I hated all the protein shakes because my taste changed, and I was dying for something savory. Getting to purees was so great. I spent the whole time looking for recipes and it helped get me through. Sent from my Nokia 7.2 using BariatricPal mobile app

I believe that "what you can never have again" is highly individualized. Like Lissa, I can't do white bread, it just seems to expand and cause painful pressure. Whole wheat bread, sliced thin and toasted, does fine. pizza has to be thin crust. Greasy foods, no way. Like Lissa, very spicy foods, uh uh. But mildly spiced does fine. Dry white meat, that hurts. Plain dry hard boiled eggs too. I did not drink soda pre-op, so don't miss it. I did drink Water by the buckets, but now I can't stand the taste and feel of it. I have to add Crystal Light. I really miss plain water. Been scared to death to try lettuce, don't know why! Other than these few things, I do fine with foods. And again, like Lissa, so worth the trade-off!

MK, I'm a year out and over 120 pounds down. I drink decaf diet coke, about 1 a day, sometimes 2. I also use a straw in my Water cup every day. I eat bread very rarely these days because it makes my sleeve hurt, and I used to LOVE fresh hot bread. I baked it every week for my family pre-op. Now I do well to eat a whole small tortilla...and I'm full for way too long afterwards, so I make that a very rare thing. As for what you can never have, there's not much that you can't ever have again. That's the beauty and frustration of the sleeve. You CAN eat whatever you want once you are past the post-op diet, but you'll find yourself needing to make better choices in order to meet your Protein goals. I eat very few veggies these days and find that I have to deliberately plan them into my diet, but I eat anything I like protein wise. My sleeve doesn't like bread and it doesn't like spicy foods, but I don't miss them either. For me, the sleeve has been a godsend..and I'd do it over again if I had to in order to lose almost 120 pounds in just over a year. What would you give up to weigh 120 pounds less? I think that bread and spicy food was a great trade for me! Good luck, whatever you decide.