Joules007

Thank you for sharing. Sadly I am in the same position and today is my 3rd day without alcohol and the withdrawals have been so bad that I needed medication from the doctor to get through it. My blood pressure raised at such high levels it was dangerous. All this is such a shock to me and before my bypass back in December 2017 I was never really interested in alcohol but over the last few years my drinking has increased so much so it had taken over my life…I seemed to look forward to the joy it gave me and the quick fix that food no longer could give me. I am hoping I can keep going and start to feel better soon. I hope to learn to live my life without alcohol and the extra weight gain from the late night snacks and start to enjoy eating healthy and to feel alive again! 🙏🏽

Congratulations! I am happy for you. It will be 5 years for me in December (gastric bypass) and your post has really inspired me to keep mindful on my eating as I have noticed old habits creeping in! Thank you 🙌🏽

Fantastic...well done!

Hi MsTipps, I'm in the UK too and I get my protein shakes from Costco, do you have one near you?

Hi, sorry for the late response! It sounds like you have done well. Remember everyone is different. Your body fat has reduced a lot! What does your average food & fluid intake look like?

Thank you. It's surprising how little it takes to fill us up, it's amazing! I'm so pleased to have had this op too, my life has changed forever....sometimes it's difficult or awkward when I go out with friends (as they don't know) but it's a small price to pay to be healthier, thinner and happier! Keep up the good work & please keep in touch...your doing amazing and it gives me more inspiration [emoji13]

Wow that's brilliant!!! I am really pleased for you. I haven't lost as much as you, in fact not even close! I was 223 pounds (clothed) on my surgery date and now I am 153 pounds (clothed). So I've lost 5 stone so far. Fit comfortably in a UK Size 12. People are telling me daily not to lose anymore weight stating that my face is looking too drawn in but I want to get into my healthy BMI range which is anything under 10:10 (150 pounds). What does your average daily diet look like?

Good luck [emoji106]

How's everyone doing?

How's everyone doing?

Hello to my December 2016 surgery buddies, how's everyone doing?

Well done! [emoji122]

Well done! You sound like you've done so well! Since surgery I have lost 4 stone (56 pounds). Like you I always worry that I've eaten took much; I just worry about gaining weight! My portion sizes are small and I've noticed that as the day goes on I can't eat as much in the evening as I could at lunch time. On the rare occasion I do over eat I feel terrible (nauseous) & I learn from it to try and judge the amount it took to feel that way. I do finding drinking in front of people especially in the morning embarrassing as my stomach can be so loud!!! Exercise is my next mountain but I've been so tired to do anything but I will start soon as I need to tone up! I don't regret having the bypass one bit, in fact it's been SO life changing that I feel proud of myself that I had the courage to have it done!

How's everyone doing? Can't believe we had our surgeries last December!!! [emoji847]

You go girl!

Fantastic! Well done [emoji3]

Tanyamann32 sorry to hear that but I'm sure once treated you will be feeling so much better! [emoji106]

Hi, just thinking, have you had your bloods checked? Are you taking all the vitamins we need post op? Are you eating & drinking enough? I was feeling really tired 'into my bones tired' and my bloods showed I was low in iron. A friend of mine was also tired and she was found to be low in Vitamin D. It's worth a check [emoji6]

I am 4 months post op too and my hair has thinned out so badly that I am worried to put my hands through it in case it takes out chunks with it! [emoji4]

Amazing, well done!

Finding Erika sorry for the late reply! I see that there have been some great responses and tips so far. As for my programme here in the UK please see below: A healthy diet There are five main food groups and a healthy diet comprises a mix of them: Protein foods – such as meat, fish, eggs, beans – include 2-3 60-90g (2-3oz) portions per day. You must be particularly careful to chew meat, chicken and fish thoroughly before you swallow – the recommended bite size is the size of a 20p piece. Eat the protein part of your meal first. Milk and dairy – choose low-fat cheese and limit amount to 30-60g (1-2 oz). Choose skimmed milk and low fat yogurt varieties. Fruit and vegetables – try to have 4-5 portions per day. A small glassful of unsweetened fruit or vegetable juice counts as one portion. Carbohydrates – bread, potatoes and cereals. One small portion of 60-90g (2-3oz) at each meal will be fine. Fatty and sugary foods – use a small amount of olive oil for cooking and replace puddings with a low fat yoghurt or stewed fruit. As mentioned before, beware of the soft calorie-laden foods such as chocolate, sweets or ice cream (see section on dumping syndrome). Fluids Choose non-carbonated fluids. Avoid diet and/or regular fizzy drinks. These make you feel uncomfortable and the gas produced by these can stretch the pouch. Your best choices for fluids are water (try squeezing some lemon into water), artificially sweetened, non-carbonated flavoured waters, coffee or tea, herbal teas, clear soups, and diluted 100 percent unsweetened fruit juices. Read labels carefully to be sure your healthy sounding drinks do not contain lots of calories. Do not forget that alcoholic drinks can be high in calories, so moderate your intake. Aim for 10 glasses of fluid a day. Meal ideas for normal diet: Breakfast Coffee or tea or 200ml skimmed milk or 200ml vegetable or fruit juice 1 slice brown bread or roll (toasted) or 50g breakfast cereal 10g butter/margarine or 20g low fat spread 1 portion jam, honey or low fat cheese spread or 50g lean meat or 1 egg Lunch 50g poached fish or 50g meat or 50-75g chicken/ Quorn/ tofu-based product 1 tablespoon risotto or rice or 1 tablespoon mashed potato or 1 small boiled potato 1 peeled grilled tomato or 2 tsp broccoli or carrots or a small mixed salad Evening meal 100g boiled spaghetti with Bolognese sauce, 1 teaspoon Parmesan cheese and 1 peeled grilled tomato Or 3 small slices of low-fat cheese, 1 slice brown bread and a small, non leafy, mixed salad (tomato, cucumber) Or 1 tablespoon tuna or egg salad with diced pickled vegetables, 1 slice brown bread Or 50g baked potato with cheese and ham with1 tablespoon of tomato salad Steps to success: Limit portion sizes for meals to a side plate or about half of a normal portion. Using measuring tools such as food scales to check your portion sizes can help initially. Eat the protein part of your meal first followed by the carbohydrate and the vegetables. Do not eat more for fear of getting hungry later. Remember that it will take time to get used to what your smaller portion looks like. Eat slowly and if you do get hungry later on have a ready-prepared snack such as a piece of fruit or a low-calorie yoghurt. Stop eating as soon as you are no longer hungry. You have to listen to your body’s feeling of satisfaction and fullness; otherwise there is a great risk of you stretching the pouch. Eat slowly, taking 20-30 minutes to complete your meal. Most obese people are used to rushing their meals and, as there is a time delay from stretching the wall of your stomach and it telling your brain you are full, you need to be careful with this one. Try placing your knife and fork down between mouthfuls. Chew foods thoroughly, aiming for 15-20 chews per mouthful. Swallow the food once you have achieved a smooth puree consistency in the mouth. Take tiny bites (cut meat up to the size of a pencil-top rubber) and chew each piece 10–25 times. Stop eating after about 20 minutes and if you are hungry again a few minutes later have a little more. Eat three meals per day –You should be satisfied eating three meals a day without getting hungry in between meals. Beware of developing 'grazing' eating patterns of small snacks throughout the day. Eat healthy, solid food –Many soft foods are high in fat or carbohydrates and as a consequence you may be taking more calories than you should and your weight loss will slow down or stop. Choose solid foods without lots of sauce (e.g. small meal of chicken and vegetables) and you will eat less overall and stay full for longer. Do not drink while eating as you could feel full too soon before you have eaten the right amount of food. So avoid fluids for half an hour before your meals and for one hour afterwards. Do not eat or graze between meals as this will slow down the weight loss. You should not need to eat between meals because of hunger if you are eating three sensible meals per day. Only eat good quality nutritious food (see above). All drinks should be zero calories – Calorie laden drinks, including alcohol, will simply add calories to your daily intake. Women need calcium and this can be obtained from skimmed milk. You should avoid juice, squashes, milkshakes and. fizzy drinks (the gas can also cause considerable pain), Drink adequate fluid between meals as mentioned before. How much exercise should I do? It is recommended that adults should aim to be active daily. Over a week, activity should add up to at least 150 minutes (2½ hours) of moderate intensity activity in bouts of 10 minutes or more. One way to approach this is to do 30 minutes on at least 5 days a week. Alternatively, comparable benefits can be achieved through 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity spread across the week or combinations of moderate and vigorous intensity activity. I'm using this as a guide but still finding it difficult to eat much (better since I last posted to you) and I struggle to do any exercise (except long walks) because I feel so tired! My hair is thinning so badly as well but I know it will be worth it in the end! [emoji4]

I feel your pain! On the day of my bypass surgery on 13th December 2016, I weighed in at 223 (fully clothed) today I weighed in (fully clothed) at 180 pounds! I'm hoping that the slower the weight loss the healthier and better & to lessen the chances of saggy skin...[emoji39]

Me too! I was starting to get worried, thinking it was only me. I can't think of anything I enjoy eating now, trouble is my mind thinks I will and then when I taste it nothing happens! Lol. I am pleased really as my enjoyment of food and eating out got me needing help! I just miss the socialising...at the moment meeting up with friends etc is often challenging and overwhelming as it often consists of food and alcohol and they don't know I've had the bypass [emoji33]

Wow thank you for posting, your such an inspiration! You must be so pleased. I am 10 weeks post op (Gastric Bypass) and seeing your photos 4 years post op is so motivating! Thank you [emoji847] Sent from iPad in the UK

Well done [emoji122]? Enjoy! Sent from iPad in the UK