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As hard as it is, focus on finding filling low-calorie choices--salad (not too much dressing), roasted vegetables, protein (not that low calorie, but filling). It's a short-term problem, really--your goal is to get to the surgery. Because believe me, after the surgery, everything changes. My biggest problem now is eating enough to meet the protein goals. I had an egg and a couple of tablespoons of cottage cheese for breakfast--it felt like a huge meal. I know this won't last, but it sure is a great way to lose weight for now and the retraining of my choices should definitely stick after months of this. You can get there too--each part of the journey is hard in its own way, but post-op, your chances are good that hunger won't be an issue then. Good luck!

I second the shopping dream--I'd like to buy clothes that aren't plus-sized, it's been decades since I've done that. Something sexy and stylish and not black!

Definitely would mention this to your doctor. I'm wondering if you have had any issues with your blood sugar? Or, as Waler suggests, it may well be acid reflux--are you on meds for that? Good luck figuring this out.

Do you test your blood sugar or are you basing your assumptions about blood sugar dropping on how you feel? I guess I'm basically asking because if you feel your blood sugar is low, that's fairly significant, but if you know your readings, you can take steps before you get to that point.

I think my number one hint would be to try a variety of protein shakes to see what you like--knowing that your tastes may chance post-op. And find other options for getting your protein besides the shakes, because you almost certainly will get very tired of them. I have used protein water, yogurt, and some high-protein soup to help with this; now that I can, I also have cottage cheese and some pureed things. But I still needed a shake today to make the goal--I'll be so happy when I can do that without them! Best of luck!

I'm three weeks post-op and get fewer than 500 a day--more like 350 to 450 a day. The MyFitnessPal site tells me every day I'm not eating enough!

I'm about three weeks post-op and still not meeting the water goals. I generally get from 32 to 40 ounces a day (although my doctor doesn't count protein shakes into that total). Thank goodness for protein water--double duty, getting both protein and water. But it's a struggle on the water front every single day.

You look terrific! Congrats!

I have a couple of guesses--one is that your weight now isn't super-high, so that may be a factor. Another is that after the first month, most people do slow down considerably--look around at the charts some people provide of their month-by-month weight loss. For many people, subsequent months show "only" single-digit losses, but these are continuing. Even if one only loses 8 pounds per month, that's 96 pounds in a year--or very close to your goal. Is a year too long?

Are you on any kind of acid reflux medication? Some people say that acid mimics hunger. I'm about three weeks post-op and not hungry at all. Mentally I want the taste of various foods--almost anything that isn't a freaking protein shake--but not hungry at all. And anytime I measure anything to eat--3 or 4 ounces--it's too much. We are, of course, all different. But please check on the acid reflux possibility and then examine whether it's head hunger or actual hunger. Best of luck.

I'm not sure what staples she had out, but the ones in our new stomach stay in. I don't think I have any staples that will come out--my teeny tiny incisions have mostly healed.

Your needs may vary depending on whether you are male or female, whether you are still menstruating or not, etc. But the basic list I was given was a regular multivitamin (for life), Vitamin B-12 (350-1000 mcg per day), calcium citrate with Vitamin D-3, 500 mg twice daily, at lunch and at dinner (should not be taken with the morning vitamins). If a menstruating woman, also iron. I personally take a B-complex vitamin and I also take biotin because it supposedly will help with the hair loss issue.

I've very early in the process, so I'm not getting a lot of carbs (today's my first day of pureed food). But I'm planning to avoid them as much as possible in the future--I know I'm sensitive to them--in my former life, a few carbs made me want more carbs, and so on . . . and I'm a diabetic, so double trouble there. My new life is low-carb and will stay that way if I can possibly keep it that way. I don't so much count them now as use MyFitnessPal to track everything I consume, but mainly so I can track my protein and water goals. Eventually I'll be watching calories and the carb count will be right there in front of me.

My doctor told me not to even think about my weight, just to concentrate on water, protein, vitamins, and exercise. I understand his point, but seriously--I own a great scale and I did this surgery TO LOSE WEIGHT. Of course I'm weighing myself daily!

My saving grace has been protein water (Atklns Lift protein drink); it has 20 g of protein per bottle and, of course, counts toward the water requirement. There are some other brands--BiPro and Protein2o. Other options are yogurt and high-protein cream soups, as well as broths (ugh, not for me). Apparently there's something called PowerPak protein pudding, too. Good luck--I didn't much enjoy this phase, but I survived it, and you will, too.

I felt awful when I woke up from surgery but they gave me pain meds after about ten minutes and I never really had pain after that. I know I have been very lucky, and I'm sorry you have gone through so much. I agree that an overnight stay seems reasonable. The clear liquid diet for the first few days or a week is part of the very slow easing of liquids so your stomach can heal. I had two weeks of full liquids and now, 2.5 weeks post-op, I'm finally at pureed. So many more choices! but I'm still not hungry. Make sure you do your best with the water and take any meds you were given and Gas-X if you need it. Best of luck--and yes, check with your surgeon's office. I really hope you are feeling better physically and emotionally soon.

The explanation I've read in these pages is that our bodies are changing so much, so quickly, that we need time to pause and catch up with the changes. A lot of people lose inches when they are not losing pounds. I lost 25 pounds pre-op and have lost 13 post-op, or not quite a pound a day. Today is the first day of pureed and I just had 4 ounces of cottage cheese--felt like about twice as much as I really wanted. My eyes are still definitely larger than my stomach!

I'm not sure of the exact steps, but there must be a way to skip it, because it doesn't show on my profile, which I filled out with the information I wanted to give. Good luck!

Oh--and I wanted to add, you're just a month after surgery. I wouldn't worry too much about sex drive--see what happens after six months or a year, perhaps!

Niseys4, what are you eating on the pureed diet? My list includes yogurt, scrambled eggs, chicken, turkey, fish, cottage cheese--everything except the yogurt pureed, of course. But these all contain protein. I'd also suggest protein water--I personally think it's much better than the shakes and it does double duty, giving you both protein and water. My list includes vegetables and very limited fruit, but the mandate is always to get your water and protein first . . .

I've told some people but I also live alone. I'm about 2.5 weeks post-op and feel fine as far as the incisions and so on, but my energy level is still really low. I'm assuming this is, in part, because I've not done much exercise--I have knee issues, too, so walking is more agony than anything else. I'm just trusting in time it will all work out--as I am losing weight. It's also tough that those sweet protein shakes are such a big part of our diet initially--ugh, ready for real food mentally/emotionally if not physically. Hang in there. It will get better!

Can you be a little more specific? Is it depression or nervousness/fear? Many people express fear of the surgery itself; others are depressed over the prospect of "never" eating favorite foods again (not true, but amounts and frequency should change, at the least). Or are you talking about clinical depression, which I'd recommend seeing a doctor to treat. For nervousness about the surgery itself, I'd just say that it's generally very safe; you'll be out during it and may feel quite lousy when you wake up, but they'll give you pain meds and you should find it quite tolerable after that. I know I'm lucky, but I felt no pain after the first ten minutes or so. So that's one possible experience; your mileage may vary.

I set mine at just over a normal BMI; it's the weight I was during college, at my lowest adult weight. But I do have intermediate goals: first is to lose 100 pounds. The next is to get under 200--still a very long way off. But I'll just see what happens as time goes by--the real goal is to be healthier. Everything else is just gravy (and how silly is it that so many expressions involve food?). I'd express what I really want, after better health, as feeling better and looking better. The number is less important.

It sounds as though you hit the normal three-week stall, so no worries there. I'm a little confused--when you say you eat "4 ounces of protein at least" do you mean at one time? That seems like a lot at once for as relatively early as you are in the process. Are you meeting the water goals? I would not stress over meeting an arbitrary weight loss goal; focus more on the big four goals (per my surgeon): water, protein, vitamins, and exercise. Is there a reason you are not taking vitamins? They really are essential for WLS recipients--we can't get enough of what we need through our very limited diets at this point. Good luck!

When you say food, do you mean regular food or pureed food? I guess I'd say follow whatever your doctor says. I'm just about to start purees and will do them for two weeks before starting "real" foods. I'm 15 days out, and as maddening as it can be, I'm happy to take it slow if that means the stomach heals safely and completely. I miss the taste of non-sweet food, but I'm not actually hungry.