Airstream88

I've never experienced dumping since my RNY in October 2016. For the first 7 months I was very careful about what I was eating and hardly ate anything over the 6g of sugar recommended to me by the Nutritionist. Now I have found I can eat a small cookie, chocolate or a bit of cake and not suffer any consequences. I have not eaten a full-size dessert of any type. I have stayed away from most fried foods. I have noticed high fat items can cause me to feel yucky but they don't cause dumping. I recently tried corn on the cob and suffered a week of indigestion so sadly it won't be in my diet from now on.

Premier Protein water, sold at Sams Club, is pretty good and is 20 g protein. I didn't like the shakes either but you are going to have to choke them down for the next few months because you just can't get enough protein from food in the beginning. If you are using protein powder to make shakes, use Fairlife milk to mix them for an extra boost of protein. I went home on the pureed stage so I could have plain yogurt. I started putting SF Hershey's syrup and SF Peppermint Paddy coffee flavoring syrup in my shakes to change up the flavor. Hang in there it get's better every month!

Go back to eating your protein first. If you do that, there is no room to drink or eat too much of anything else. The July 4th weekend was full of wonderful food and I found myself putting too much on my plate. I then slipped on the eat protein first rule and ate too much of the side dishes before finishing my protein. So the new rule for me at party like events will be to get the protein first and eat it, then go back for the side dishes.

In the first 3- 6 months before you can eat enough real food, you have to force those protein shakes down. I hated them with a passion but I knew it was supremely important to weight loss and maintaining muscle mass so I drank them anyway, gagging all the way. You can also try the Premier Protein Clear protein waters - 90 calories and 20g protein. I generally don't tolerate drinks with artificial sweeteners but I actually like them. Also Fairlife milk has 13g of protein per cup. Make your protein shakes with Fairlife and you get an extra protein boost.

For those having issues with water, try decaffeinated hot tea. I found warm liquids went down much better in the beginning than cold.

I'm getting 70 - 95gm daily. I try for the 95g on workout days. I get all of it from food except for the Premier Protein Clear water I drink on workout days.

No worries on the water but you really need to work on upping your protein. I was told to sip, sip, sip water. Stop for 30 minutes, then drink protein shake, wait 30 minutes, then start sipping water again. At first I could drink about 3 oz of the protein shake at a time. We were told to shoot for at least 40gms of protein a day that first two weeks.

You need to get back to the basics. Eat your protein first, don't drink during meals or 30 minutes after and always eat fruit or multigrain serving with protein. Make your protein and water/fluid targets.

I found this article on another WLS site. It's old but makes sense: By: Cynthia Buffington, Ph.D Did you drink carbonated soft drinks prior to your Bariatric surgery? Do you still consume carbonated soft drinks? Were you advised by your surgeon or his/her nutritional staff NOT to drink carbonated drinks after surgery? Do you understand why drinking carbonated beverages, even if sugar-free, could jeopardize your weight loss success and, perhaps even your health? A carbonated beverage is an effervescent drink that releases carbon dioxide under conditions of normal atmospheric pressure. Carbonated drinks include most soft drinks, champagne, beer, and seltzer water. If you consume a soft drink or other carbonated beverage while eating, the carbonation forces food through he stomach pouch, reducing the time food remains in the pouch. The less time food remains in your stomach pouch, the less satiety (feelings of fullness) you experience, enabling you to eat more with increased risk for weight gain. The gas released from a carbonated beverage mat "stretch" your stomach pouch. Food forced through the pouch by the carbonation could also significantly enlarge the size of your stoma (the opening between the stomach pouch and intestines of patients who have had a gastric bypass or biliopancreatic diversion). An enlarged pouch or stoma would allow you to eat larger amounts of food at any one setting. In this way, consuming carbonated beverages, even if the drinks are diet or calorie free, may cause weight gain or interfere with maximal weight loss success. Soft drinks may also cause weight gain by reducing the absorption of dietary calcium. Dietary calcium helps to stimulate fat breakdown and reduce its uptake into adipose tissue. Epidemiological and clinical studies have found a close association between obesity and low dietary calcium intake. Recent studies have found that maintaining sufficient amounts of dietary calcium helps to induce weight loss or prevent weight gain following diet. The high caffeine in carbonated sodas is one way that drinking carbonated soft drinks may reduce the absorption of calcium into the body. Studies have found that caffeine increases urinary calcium content, meaning that high caffeine may interfere with the uptake of dietary calcium into the body. Keep in mind that one 12 oz. can of Mountain Dew has 50 mg of caffeine, and Pepsi and Coke (diet or those with sugar) contain 37 mg of caffeine each. Colas, such as Pepsi and Coke (diet or with sugar), may also cause calcium deficiencies from the high amounts of phosphoric acid that they contain. Phosphate binds to calcium and the bound calcium cannot be absorbed into the body. Both animal and human studies have found that phosphoric acid is associated with altered calcium homeostasis and low calcium. Drinking carbonated beverages may also reduce dietary calcium because these beverages replace milk and other nutrient-containing drinks or foods in the diet. Several studies report inverse (negative) relationships between carbonated beverage usage and the amount of milk (particularly children) consume. Carbonated beverages, then, may reduce dietary calcium because of their high caffeine or phosphoric acid content or because drinking such beverages tends to reduce the consumption of calcium-containing foods and beverages. Such deficiencies in dietary calcium intake may be even more pronounced in Bariatric surgical patients. Calcium deficiencies with Bariatric surgery have been reported following gastric restrictive and/or malabsorptive procedures. The reduced amounts of calcium with bariatric surgery may occur as a result of low nutrient intake, low levels of vitamin D, or, for patients who have had gastric bypass pr the biliopancreatic diversion (with or without the duodenal switch), from bypass of the portion of the gut where active absorption of calcium normally occurs. Drinking carbonated beverages may further increase the risk for dietary calcium deficiencies and, in this way, hinder maximal weight loss success. For all the reasons described above, including calcium deficits, reduced satiety, enlargement of pouch or stoma, drinking carbonated beverages, even those that are sugar-free, could lead to weight gain. Carbonated beverages that contain sugar, however, pose a substantially greater threat to the Bariatric patient in terms of weight loss and weight loss maintenance with surgery. Sugar-containing soft drinks have a relatively high glycemic index, meaning that blood sugar levels readily increase with their consumption. The rapid rise in blood sugar, in turn, increases the production of the hormone, insulin. , that acts to drive sugar into tissues where it is metabolized or processed for storage. High insulin levels, however, also contribute to fat accumulation, driving fat into the fat storage depots and inhibiting the breakdown of fat. Soft drinks with sugar are also high in calories. An average 12 oz. soft drink contains 10 teaspoons of refined sugar (40g). The typical 12-oz. can of soda contains 150 calories (Coke = 140 calories; Pepsi = 150; Dr. Pepper = 160; orange soda = 180; 7-up = 140; etc.). Soft drinks are the fifth largest source of calories for adults, accounting for 5.6% of all calories that Americans consume. Among adolescents, soft drinks provide 8%- to 9% of calories. An extra 150 calories per day from a soft drink over the course of a year, is equivalent to nearly 16 pounds and that weight gain multiplied by a few years could equate to “morbid obesity”. In addition to the adverse effects that carbonated drinks have on weight loss or weight loss maintenance, carbonated beverages may also have adverse effects on health. Soda beverages and other carbonated drinks are acidic with a pH of 3.0 or less. Drinking these acidic beverages on an empty stomach in the absence of food, as Bariatric patients are required to do, can upset the fragile acid-alkaline balance of the gastric pouch and intestines and increase the risk for ulcers or even the risk for gastrointestinal adenomas (cancer). Soft drink usage has also been found to be associated with various other health problems. These include an increased risk for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, kidney stones, bone fractures and reduced bone density, allergies, cancer, acid-peptic disease, dental carries, gingivitis, and more. Soft drinks may, in addition, increase the risk for oxidative stress. This condition is believed to contribute significantly to aging and to diseases associated with aging and obesity, i.e. diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, reduced immune function, hypertension, and more. From the above discussion, do you now have a little better understanding of why your Bariatric surgeon or Bariatric nutritionist advised you NOT to consume carbonated sodas after surgery? Your Bariatric surgeon and his/her staff want to see you achieve the best results possible from your surgery – both in terms of weight loss and health status – and so do YOU. Consider the consequences of drinking such beverages now that you understand more clearly why such drinks are “Bariatric taboo”.

I think everyone worries about having surgery - no matter what type. You just have to keep your eye on the prize. It's been the best decision I've made in my life to have RNY. Wish I had done it years earlier.

The Bariatric program I opted for does not offer DS as an option. I had RNY and I am very pleased with my progress so far.The surgery did what I needed it to do. I was never full before and now I am after a small but decent sized meal.

My NUT allows us two whole grain servings daily. I eat Whole grain crackers and breads (toasted). I've had some Farro which is an ancient whole grain with high protein. And every now and again I eat popcorn. Eating whole grains and fruits has not affected my weight loss. I'm still losing about 10 pounds a month.

I take the Nutrametrix (or Isotonix) powder multi-vitamins and calcium. You have to drink them on an empty stomach but can eat 15 minutes later. The are more expensive but are 95% absorbed so you only have to drink the multi-vitamin once a day. I generally do it in the morning. I use the Bariatric Advantage Lemon Chewables for the rest of my Calcium, they taste like starbursts to me.

It's possible you are not eating enough calories. At six weeks you should probably be trying for at least 600 calories a day. At two months I was at 600-800 calories a day.

My goals were to avoid two knee replacements, not become Type II diabetic, and get off blood pressure medicine. I've accomplished those goals. All my numbers are good. Even my LDL cholesteral is in the too low range. My NUT calculated that surgery would get me in the 198 - 222 range. If I make either of those weights I will be satisfied. I have no desire to be 145 (my surgeon's goal). I would look sickly and have too much loose skin hanging off my body which I have no plans to fix with plastic surgery. I'd rather retire early and spend the rest of my days traveling the country with my husband than drop $50-75K on more surgery.

My NUT estimated I would lose between 70 - 80% of my excess weight which would leave me weighing between 198 and 222.If I get to either of those numbers I will be perfectly happy. I have no desire at my age, 55, to weigh 145 pounds. I would look sickly and have so much skin hanging off of me that I'd be unhappy. I'm going to be living with that skin a long time since I'd rather retire and travel with my husband than spend 50K or more on plastic surgery. At eight months I'm still losing about 10 pounds a month.

Everyone's body and journey is different. I didn't lose much prior to surgery (I didn't have to do the pre-op liquid diet). I lost 37 pounds the first month and then lost 9 the second. It's a long journey and you will only torture yourself if you worry about how much you lose versus others. Make sure to follow your plan - try your best to make your fluid and protein goals. The weight will drop off.

Add in fat - full fat cheese sticks, 2% yogurt instead of no fat, 2% milk instead of skim.

I had an umbilical hernia repaired and my gallbladder removed at the same time as my RNY surgery. I think I may have had a little additional pain from the gall bladder removal.

I'm 8 months out and have averaged a weight loss of 16 pounds per month. I eat somewhere between 1200 - 1500 daily. At 3 months I was told to be beteen 800 - 1000 calories. The way you get it in is to eat 5 small meals a day - every 3 hours or so. That's the plan I was given by my NUT and it seems to be working very well for me. Don't forget to eat some good fats - nuts, olive oil, nut butters. I'm allowed 3 servings daily. They are good for you and help get that calorie count up.

I can't help you. I haven't vomited once since my surgery. I wasn't allowed solids until 31 days out from my surgery.

I think she meant Crepey skin. Like the skin on very old people's arms when they have lost all the fat and there's nothing filling out the extra skin.

I took 2400g of Ibuprofen daily and the the largest does of Meloxicam for my knees prior to the Bypass. My surgeon said that once the weight was off, if I still had issues they would prescribe a non-NSAID. I have lost 120 pounds and I haven't had to take anything but Extra Strength Tylenol for my knees. Just losing the weight helped my back and knees immensely.

In all my nutrition classes, no one ever asked this question. The stomach barely digests the food after RNY as there is very little Gastric Acid in the new tiny stomach. The upper intestines are bypassed so it's the lower intestines that get barely digested food. How long that takes, I have no idea. My NUT did say that the reason for eating every 3 - 4 hours ( without snacks in between) is that's how long it takes dense food like protein to leave your stomach.

Agree with blondie66. I originally wanted the sleeve but ended up getting the bypass. My surgeon recommended Bypass due to the amount I had to lose, but left it up to me. After reading hundreds of peoples experiences with both, I decided the Bypass was the best option after all. I wanted 1 operation, I didn't want to have to worry about developing GERD, I wanted the restriction on sugar and fat, and I didn't mind having to take vitamins and supplements for the rest of my life. My pre-diabetes and blood pressure are now normal (Blood sugar almost immediately).