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... and with that, I think my time on Bariatric Pal has come to an end. Good luck, everyone!

Hi Elise 24, as someone still getting notifications on this thread (and with no horse in the race), I really do think you are misreading the tone of these responses. No one has said anything bullying toward you, although you yourself have been quite unpleasant toward the OP (taunting her for appreciating a bump). We're all undergoing rapid weight loss with the accompanying hormonal roller coaster ride. Might be time to back off and cool down.

Ha! I clicked on this to scold the poster for being unkind... and then I just laughed and laughed. Maybe the forums are a temporary resting place rather than a final destination. I started lurking before my surgery to learn as much as I could, and I've been around since my surgery a couple months ago to reassure myself that my experiences are normal. I think it's been great for that. But once you've gotten what you need from it and you find yourself creating a (seriously funny) taxonomy of irritating posts... maybe it's time to move on? I think I'm approaching that moment.

The size of the bougie does have an effect on how likely you are to maintain your weight loss in the long term. There isn't a big difference in weight loss early on (the first couple years) but in the long term, people who had a larger bougie (>44 Fr) had significantly more regain. Here's the research paper - if you skim down to "7. Weight loss results" they give the details. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1743919114000454 I asked my surgeon what size bougie he used. It was the smallest one (32, I think?). According to the research paper linked above, people had good long term results with sizes equal to or smaller than 36. I would say, don't be afraid to ask. My surgeon was happy to discuss details with me and answer all my questions. Good luck!

I'm still having the same problem almost 2 months out. I put a prune in my morning protien smoothie and get in a walk. I still don't go every day because I'm just not eating that much. When it feels like it's been too long I take a couple Colacec (stool softener) every day until it happens. Ideally I'd like to only use a natural solution (i.e. prunes) but sometimes it's just not enough.

This early on you can trust how you feel. If it feels okay to drink more, then drink more. If you're drinking too much or too fast, you'll definitely feel it. That was the message I got from my nutritionist and that was also my experience. Good luck!

I'm in the same boat. I had my surgery 12/11 too. I lost about 20 pounds before the surgery, then another 16 pounds pretty quick after surgery, but for the last 3-4 weeks - nothing. The scale hasn't moved since I started eating pureed food (now I'm about 1 day out from completely 'normal' food). I know a stall around 3 weeks post surgery is pretty common, but I'm starting to lose hope. it's been almost a month and no more weight loss. I'm drinking water, eating protein, exercising - my nutritionist says any calorie intake between 400-1000 is fine (I'm usually around 600-700). Maybe it just didn't work for me?

I'm in the same week-3-stall boat, which is discouraging, but apparently very common. Everyone says to keep doing what you're doing and it will pass. Fingers crossed. I'm also lactose intolerant, so all that yogurt and cottage cheese is a definite no. At my nutritionist's suggestion I have been making bean soups (lentils, black beans) and throwing them in the blender. They go down very easy and are high in protein. If you don't like to cook there are some decent ready-made options at the grocery store - just blend and eat. Just my opinion, but if you're still experincing pain from your hernia repair, you might want to stick with just walking for now. Some people take a walk in the morning and the evening - that could be a good option for you. More vigorous exerise can wait until you're healed and feeling up to it.

Okay... TMI warning I know this has come up, but I'm two weeks out, and so far I've only had 2 BMs - both were very difficult and uncomfortable. It's now been several days, and... nothing. I've been taking Colace, but it doesn't seem to be helping. I'm still on liquids... is this normal or should I be concerned? Should I try throwing a couple prunes in the blender with my protein shake? I never had this problem pre-surgery, so I'm not sure what else to do. I'm staying active, walking, getting my water in, etc., but nothing seems to help.

I was on clear liquids for about 4 days (broth, water, tea, sf popsicles), and now I'm on regular liquids, including the protein shakes. The nutritionist told me if I could suck it through a straw, it was the right consistancy. I like to cook, so I've been making vegetable soup with beans or lentils, and then liquifying it in the blender. I add more broth if I need to thin it out (my nutritionist gave this the thumbs up). It's been working really well for me - it's liquid but it tastes like real food, and it lets me get in things like spinach, carrots, squash and beans. But it usually looks pretty gross (brown water). I stir in a flavorless whey powder before I eat it for added protein (don't heat it with the whey powder or it curdles). If you have things you like and you can liquify them, it will probably work, just check it with your nutritionist to make sure. A lot of people get drinkable yogurt, or make their own by mixing greek yogurt (higher protein) with almond milk or something like that to make it watery. If you have a sweet tooth you can usually add stevia.

I had the sleeve on December 11, so I'm about a week out, and I'm still not getting down all my water, although I do a little better every day. But it's still uncomfortable. I can feel the water go down and it causes an unpleasant, sometimes cramping sensation in my stomach. I do feel like it's a little more comfortable each day.

I did my dissertation work on coral reefs, so I'm not a health scientist, but I did teach experimental design to undergraduates when I was in graduate school, my PhD is in biology, and I do get paid to write about health research for a popular audience. There is nothing wrong with the design of this research study. Yes, 18% of people who skip breakfast are not fat; this is not an indication that skipping breakfast is a great way to lose weight. Maybe you gain weight when you eat breakfast, but you are a single data point and you are not proof that skipping breakfast is a great way for most people to lose weight. It's awesome to read research, and it's immportant to be aware of the limitations of what research can tell you, but crapping all over a research study because you can't control for every variable in a correlation study or because it's not a double blind control study (very few studies are) is throwing out valuable information for no good reason. Research studies are peer-reviewed, which means at least three expert epidemiology researchers read this paper and agreed that the study design was sound and the conclusions were reasonable. As someone who isn't an expert in this field, but who is familiar with how science works, I feel comfortable trusting the reviewers judgement. That doesn't mean I believe eating breakfast will make me thin. It means on days I have to skip breakfast, I pay closer attention to my food choices, try not to over snack, and choose to eat breakfast most days so that I don't get over hungry and make poor choices. Ya'll do what works for you.

Saying you can't draw conclusions from an epidemiological study is hyperbolic. Yes, correlation is not causation, but that doesn't mean that you can't learn something from correlation studies. You absolutely can. For example, this study doesn't prove that eating breakfast makes you healthier, but it does prove that skipping breakfast is not a great way to lose weight for most people. Because causation does indicate correlation; if skipping breakfast helped people control their weight, then skipping breakfast would be correlated with lower weights, and it's not. The opposite is true. The authors found that people who skipped breakfast were more likely to make poor food choices and snack more, which is a fair hypothesis (untested here) for why skipping breakfast doesn't lead to weight loss for most people. Intermittent fasting is a special case and not what this paper is about. Paleo/crossfit enthusiasts are a tiny subset of the population, and they aren't the focus of this study. Most importantly, they aren't just skipping breakfast - they're making sure not to overcompensate calories later in the day, avoiding all junk food and working out really hard. I think it's important to understand that 'correlation is not causation' is not a blanket statement meaning that correlation studies are worthless. They aren't.

Sending you so many good thoughts and prayers!

Well, you have to do what you think is best, but think about it this way. If you had a good friend who was an alcoholic, and they decided to sober up, would you sit down with a six pack and drink it in front of them the first week they're trying to stay sober? If you're a good friend, then probably not. You're not asking him to quit eating forever, you're just asking him to not chow down right in front of you while you are literally starving in preparation for surgery. Anyway, sorry for throwing my 2 cents at you. I'm on my liquid diet right now too, so I know how hard it is. If my husband came home with a sack of cheeseburgers I think I'd have to kill him.

Good luck today!

I'm not sure if I'd make it living on just the shakes and broth - you rock! It might just be because I'm so hungry, but zucchini 'noodles' are the most delicious thing in the world right now. I can put salt on them and chew them!

Tell your boyfriend to go out to eat, or eat in another room. That's just mean to eat good stuff in front of you!

I'm scheduled for December 11 and doing my pre-op diet. My nutritionist has me doing protein shakes, but I'm allowed to eat green leafy vegetables, so that helps. There's a lot of collards and cabbage in my world right now. And herbal tea - so much herbal tea.

I'm still on my pre-op diet, but I'm using Opportuniteas grass-fed whey protein isolate. I found it on Amazon. I haven't noticed that it has any flavor at all, so I can mix it into broth.

I'm on day two - herbal tea and chicken broth are keeping me on track. It hasn't been too bad, but I live in an apartment building, and when I was coming up the stairs my neighbor was cooking something that smelled DELICIOUS. That made me feel really hungry, but I had a cup of chicken broth and it went away.

I think when people say 'lower your standards' they don't really mean you should be willing to date married alcoholics (at least I hope not!) But I know more than a few (single) women who have a literal list of requirements: be above a certain height, earn a certain amount of money, have a certain level of education, etc. etc. There's a tendency for a lot of women to go around with a Mr. Perfect in their head and that's who they want and no one else will do. The probelm is, he doesn't exist - because you made him up. I didn't lower my standards when I went out with my husband for the first time, but I did open myself up to new possibilities. He wasn't my type at all, his clothes were too conservative, he wasn't nearly as "cool" as other guys I'd dated... and he's the most wonderful man in the world: supportive, funny, romantic, clever. So I don't like the phrase 'lower your standards,' but I do think people should keep an open mind about who they're willing to date. Just because a man doesn't catch your eye or make your heart flutter at first sight doesn't mean you won't have crazy chemistry with him once you get to know him a little. Just because he's unemployed right now or doesn't make a lot of money doesn't mean he can't be a great guy who keeps your house running like a well-oiled machine (stay at home dads!) Anyway, no, avoiding drunks and cheaters is not being too picky. But beyond that... I think it's worth it to give unlikely suitors a chance.

I just started my 2 week liquid diet today - I hope I handle it as well as you have!

I'm scheduled for December 11 in Tijuana. The nutritionist has me on low carb/low calorie diet, and then I'll start a liquid diet 2 weeks before (really soon!). I'm nervous about the surgery and I've neem trying to prepare mentally. It feels like I'm breaking up with food!

Michelle L. - I'm having my procedure done in Mexico too - December 11. It's with Dr. Ortiz at the OCC in Tijuana. He has a very good reputation. Where are you having yours done? I'm also really nervous. I know the complication rates are very low for gastric sleeve, but I have an amazing 5 year old daughter and a wonderful husband, and I can't help worrying something could go wrong. I also can't quite believe it will really work. I have lost weight in the past, but I always gain it back. It's hard to imagine actually losing more than 30 pounds and actually keeping it off.