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Thank you so much for the post. I'm female and a different age group but height/weight wise our stats match pretty well and I've felt very discouraged with my progress so far (over 2 weeks out, following the regiment but only lost 11lbs). I definitely understand your hunger vs food memories feeling. I'm still trying to figure out which is which since my food memories are still like heavy cravings which I thought was going to go away. I really hope I'm able to show more progress like you did. You're doing awesome!

That's exactly my same fear. Because honestly I did mess up my lapband and it didn't work so I've definitely had experience with the fact that you can eat around a surgery. Which also adds to my frustrations since this time around I am following the regimen. To be honest not really. At least nothing that makes me feel that "stuck in my chest" feeling a lot of people have (or that I had when I had the lapband). The main issue I had was during my liquid phase I had a laughing cow cheese around week 2. I also had a slightly more spicy soup. So I got dumping but at the same time it wasn't like most people described. I didn't feel weak or get the sweats. My stomach gurgled and I had to use the bathroom. Did my business and everything was fine. I'm not even sure if the symptoms were cause of the surgery versus I've always had these sort of stomach "dumping" issues so it was basically just another day for me. What about you?

First 2-3 days were definitely awful. I literally dreamt about food. I don't hate my protein shakes but I don't like how much I had to drink. I ended up making a lot of soup and just adding Genepro flavorless protein powder in (60 calories w/ 30g of protein). That helped a ton. Though admittedly I was on a 2 wk pre-op liquid and 2 wk post-op liquid and I still can't stomach the idea of soups anymore.

Thank you! I think you're one of the first people that seems to get the same feeling. You're doing amazing on your water and protein btw! I'm glad your surgeon sounds supportive. I am on the same boat because my scale movement has been close to nothing. I lost basically the same amount of weight on my pre-op liquid diet. I'm not great at non-scale victories too since I can't tell what's actually changing post-surgery versus changes that happened before surgery that I just didn't catch until now.

Yeah I will definitely try to slow down. I'm trying to figure out why I eat so quickly cause I'm the same way. I definitely eat much slower than I used to but with my shakes I tend to down them unless I'm being super conscious. I think possibly because it goes down easier as I drink it faster versus when I sip, the taste lingers and I end up feeling gaggier not from fullness but just from the taste (I've tried over a dozen brands and so so so many different mixtures, they all do this to me). Though that's also not an excuse. I've been pretty good about it recently so just gotta make sure I do this permanently.

Thank you so much. I'm in the healthcare field and this was the first explanation I found that really seems to match what I'm actually feeling. My surgeon does seem to know about the 3 week stall and she is very sweet but she is still relatively new to the field (though a lot of her colleagues seem to really like her and I love her too) so maybe as far as her patients go, most don't have issues until the 3rd week? I've been exploring the forums and online too and I have started to see a few 2 week stallers tho definitely more 3+ wks but the science does make me feel better so all I can do is keep pushing forward. Thank you!

Thank you so much. I'm glad a 1/2 cup is someone else's guide too. I feel like I see a ton of online vids where people struggle to get down 1/4 cup and I'm here with my 1/2 cup portion which makes me feel content but I had no issues getting it down. I really hope I get a 3rd week loss cause it's definitely discouraging.

I COMPLETELY agree. Seriously, I have no idea how my body isn't losing. Like I see all these theories but in the end I'm eating so little, where is the weight coming from? And of course there's my fried's who can eat a ton and gain nothing I would absolutely do the same! I know it's bad to weigh yourself so much but I'm more scared that I wake up after not weighing myself for a while and find out I gained 5 lbs or something...

I'm totally on the same boat. Had the Lap Band back in 2013. Never lost more than 20 lbs on it. Had a bunch of fills/unfills and a slight increased filled gave me the worst acid reflux I've had in my life. Like it burned to breathe. Eventually had it filled just a little less but I felt no restriction. Literally could eat more than most of my friends. Regained all the weight and then some. Finally lost about 45lbs just slowly over 2 yrs and got changed to a VSG about 2 weeks ago and really hoping it'll work this time around. So far I'm 50/50 on this though. I'm scared my issues with the lap band did something that's not letting my VSG work as well as it should...

Wow that's a ton! Honestly I'm really jealous. I can't say what's normal or not for you. Personally I lost about 10lbs over a 2 week period of liquids. I was doing about 1000 calories the first week and then 600-700 the second.

I'm in the middle of a stall (hoping it's a stall at least...) that started about 1.5 wks post op and now I'm about 2.5 wks out and still stalled. Lost about 11 lbs that first 1.5 wks and just nothing. Getting my protein and increasing my exercise and really hoping the scale will move soon because I'm really scared and frustrated.

That's a relief. Do you guys know around how many oz you were eating before the soft/solids phase? I'm still a bit worried since 6oz still seems like quite a bit. I'm really hoping I just hit my stall early. Most people say 3 weeks so I'm wondering why mine seemed to come in week 2 (like week 1.5 to be honest...) She was very bubbly and encouraging but very bluntly told me the stall at this stage is not right. I'm definitely a bit concerned since I've been following. Not sure if I messed up somehow but yeah I don't know... She said most people meet with her for a 3 month visit but wanted to give me extra support so I have another visit in 1 month.

I really hope that's the case and that I'll feel the restriction when I move on. I'm sure I did some damage cause I started off as a Lap Band patient about 5 years ago and learned to eat around the band to a point where I felt no restriction. I definitely really went for mushy food early on in the Lap Band experience and had awful choking reaction but still forced myself to eat cause I was that addicted to food. I'm far from well-off but I'm also not that person anymore and I really hope I'll learn from this restriction (if it hopefully comes) versus trying to force it away like last time. I haven't heard too many people stalling in the 2nd week but I'm glad there's some. Like I mentioned, it scares me how much my doctor said that getting a stall at 2 weeks was flat out abnormal. Haha I will try to weigh myself less though honestly that's the main advice I haven't been able to follow. I'm so paranoid I literally bring scales with me on vacation so I can monitor myself.

Thank you so much. I'm happy to hear at least one other person didn't feel the restriction as much as everyone else (I definitely feel it but I still have some appetite and I don't get any of the discomfort/pain other people get). I will definitely up my water. I don't have too hard a time getting it down versus because I eat 3-4 small meals a day and there's the buffer time between meals. Then I don't drink immediately after cause I'm full still and I'm scared I'm going to stretch out my stomach. Then the next meal is almost around the corner. The last reason is dumb and I know it but I weigh myself at night too (cause usually I have a pretty good idea of what I'll be in the morning) and I see that once again I won't be losing anything so I'm scared of even putting on water weight that'll cling on. But yeah my Doctor was mostly supportive but the way she said "that's not normal" when I told her about the lack of restriction scares me so much.

I got the sleeve a little over 2 weeks ago and I'm so worried. I just met with my doctor and even she seems a bit concerned. I had a 2 week post-op liquid diet and I handled everything way too well. I consciously slow down but have slipped up once or twice and chugged water or a protein shake (like 15-20 mins to finish a premier protein). Literally no problem. At most a few burps. On top of that I had my stall at just 2 weeks out. I know you shouldn't weigh everyday but I literally haven't lost anything (even gained/lost .5-1lb somedays) for the last week. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I have been on a 2 week pre-op & 2 week post-op diet and my last week of the pre-op liquid was just 600-700 calories which was about the same as my 2 week post-op diet so I'm trying to justify it as I've been eating the same thing for 3 weeks but my doctor still told me that's not normal but to also stop weighing myself everyday. That's not even the worst part... Now I'm on pureed and I'm tolerating food way too well. My doctor's guide is that I can have up to 600-800 calories (previously been doing ~700) and each sitting shouldn't be more than my fist (bit more than a 1/2 cup). I did that for dinner today with a variety of pureed items (1 Laughing cow, 2 tbsp pureed eggplant, 1 tbsp pureed walnut, 1 tbsp avocado, 1 tbsp ikura, 3 tbsp pureed crab salad). In total it was about 200 calories (my meals are 150-200 cals each) + it was within her "fist" guideline but out of curiosity I weighed the food and it was 6oz. I downed the whole thing with no problem in about 25 mins (could've been even shorter but I tried to slow myself down). Everyone else I'm seeing online seems to struggle to get down the food in those tiny 2oz sample cups and here I am without an issue. I am getting my protein in, not drinking before/after meals, taking my vitamins, and (mostly) getting my water (probably the only thing I should work on a bit more). Has anyone else had these issues? I'm so scared I'm going to fail. My doctor straight up told me how I'm doing is not normal and I'm terrified. I had the lapband before and didn't put in the work and gained weight on it. I'm finally trying so hard this time but only lost 10lbs since surgery. I don't know what to do.