lizonaplane

I agree with what other posters above are saying. The only thing I would add just pertains to the flight itself - get an aisle seat even if you have to pay extra so you can get up and walk every hour to prevent blood clots which are at higher risk after surgery. Also, see if you can get someone to lift your suitcase (maybe get a wheelchair service? this doesn't cost extra you just have to call the airport or airline in advance to reserve - I believe you can do it on the airline's website) to minimize the risk of incisional hernia.

Yeah, I know it can be from GERD, but this is mostly on the tip of my tongue and a bit on the roof of my mouth at the front, which would not seem likely to be from GERD, plus it more seems bitter than metallic exactly. I'd send a message to my surgery center, but they never respond.

I've had GERD. It doesn't feel like when I had it, but I guess it could be a different manifestation

Ugh... glad I searched for this... I lost 50 lbs before surgery and this didn't happen, nor did it happen with a super low carb diet on the pre-op diet. But now, exactly one month after surgery, I woke up yesterday with a metallic, gross taste in my mouth and I can no longer stand plain water. Also, it's not just in the morning, and brushing my teeth doesn't help one bit. Is it good to be in ketosis? Will weight loss go any faster? (I'm down 18 lbs in a month, so I'm fine with my progress, just curious.) Are there other effects of being in ketosis? Is this why I'm so dizzy? I'm drinking more than 64 oz of water each day, but it's flavored water or tea or coffee or protein shakes or diet (5 calorie) juice, not plain water which I miss. Will this gross taste go away?

I personally would be concerned but it's also a really serious issue to be very overweight. I was concerned and I know I was not the largest person my surgeon had operated on. I was just nervous for the surgery. You might consider getting a second opinion or seeing if there's a surgeon who specializes in larger patients, but there might not be someone in your area. The other thing I would suggest is to lose as much weight as possible before the surgery because that is the best way to put yourself in good shape for the surgery. Whatever you decide, please keep us posted. I'm rooting for you!!

So, at a month out the only thing I put on an actual plate is when I make eggs sometimes. I use a small (by USA standards) plate and use 1-2 eggs worth of egg product which has more protein than whole eggs and less fat. It doesn't look like a full plate, but it isn't too sad. Only, I can't usually finish it if I make two eggs worth (90g). Most of the time, when I make a meal (I use about 400-500g of ground chicken or turkey and maybe a little onion or mushrooms and of course spices) I immediately portion it into small plastic containers that hold about 1 cup (but I only fill about 1/3-1/2 cup) and eat out of those. It's a little sad, but I haven't gotten much joy out of food, to be honest. Sometimes I'll put the food in a bowl... it's fancier that way LOL! I haven't had any ready meals yet, but I will be traveling this week at eating at restaurants by necessity. I plan to just order fish (lots of Asian food in Los Angeles) and eat only what I need and just leave on my plate what I can't eat. I know it's wasteful, but I can't really take leftovers to my hotel. Work is paying anyway! One thing about the ready meals in the USA at least is that they often have a lot of rice or other carb on the side, so you can just not eat that part.

Exactly this!

I'm only a month out and I'm eating about 600 calories a day. I am wondering if I need to eat less to be as successful as you!

I'm one month out. I'm not someone who can follow a "meal plan". I don't want to decide at the beginning of the day what I'll be eating at each meal; I need to have a choice or life feels deadly dull. That being said, I will cook something a few times a week (right now it's some sort of ground meat or bean-based dish with a spicy sauce eaten with fat free greek yogurt) and then alternate among the ones I've cooked. I portion them out into 5-6 or more servings in small plastic containers and freeze some so I don't get sick of what I've made or it doesn't go bad too soon. I'll eat them three times a day, breakfast lunch and dinner, except I will occasionally make egg product with cheese for breakfast. I would say at most I spent about 40 minutes a day on all three meals, and many days it's less than 10 minutes. Of course, I live alone and don't have to feed anyone else. I do spend some time looking at recipes, but I'll usually do this when as a form of inspiration, mostly it's things I can't have. Most people's ideas of what a post-surgery patient can have seems very bland to me and I wouldn't eat it, so I don't look at bariatric meal ideas - I go to real cooking sites and figure out how to adapt "normal" recipes. My job involves a lot of traveling so my next task will be to figure out how to eat better on the road.

I haven't experienced dumping, but generally it wouldn't last so long. And yes, a lot of surgeons have terrible bedside manner

Omg! I'm so sorry you're feeling this way. It doesn't sound like dumping at all, but your surgeon shouldn't have blown you off!!! This does sound like a stomach bug, but given that diarrhea could cause dehydration since you're maybe not drinking too much now.

Regular grocery stores usually carry individual bars as well as boxes; usually they are in the same section. The ones like Atkins and Zone might be in a different section from the ones like Lara Bars. I find the Atkins ones are with the ensure drinks and SlimFast and the Lara Bars are with the "natural" foods. Atkins and Zone are sweetened with artificial sugar so they are sweeter but have fewer carbs. Lara Bars and a lot of the others are less sweet but are sweetened with fruit or other sweeteners that have a lot of sugar and carbs. I think the Quest bars are more similar to the Atkins bars. There are tons of fruit sweetened bars besides Lara Bars, but my mind is drawing a blank! Good luck and let us know what you find.

I was told by the dietician I had to finish my meal in 30 minutes, so I'm not ever going to be as slow as some people. I just throw out what I haven't eaten at the end of 30 minutes. I chew my food to mush (it's disgusting and I hate it) and then look at the clock or wait to the next minute to take another mouthful. I also use small silverware as others have said. Also, if one bite gets stuck, I wait till I burp a few times and my chest feels clear before I take the next small bite. I often find being distracted with work or my phone will help me eat more slowly.

At day 5 I was pretty miserable. At day 7 I tried to check my work emails and had to quit after 30 minutes - the brain fog was real! At two weeks I was ready to work again (desk job) but I needed breaks to clear my head. I'm a month out today and I'm back to mostly full speed now, although eating has it's challenges. You're only 5 days out from MAJOR surgery. Yes, you need a support system, but I had a great support system and I still needed two weeks to be able to work a desk job again. You'll get there!

Hang in there! I gained and lost the same few pounds a few times in the first few weeks. Look at trends, not just the weight over a few days. Everyone here is right; there are lots of reasons for an increase at one time point - including constipation especially right after surgery and if you're dehydrated, your tissues hold on to more fluid. Just follow the plan and the weight will come off!

I agree with everything people here are saying. You are losing very quickly, and stalls of 1-3 or more weeks are common. I would be concerned that you're not getting enough protein/nutrients to be walking 10km a day. Also, try ground chicken or turkey instead of pieces of chicken. Dal would be good, and any other beans/chickpeas work well for me. Also try paneer, and low sugar yogurt. These would increase your protein. I'm only a month out and I'm eating about a half cup (about the size of my fist, don't know grams) at times, sometimes less. I eat a lot of beans, ground turkey and chicken with greek yogurt and spices, and cheese. The only thing I've thrown up so far is chicken breast that was pretty dry. Good luck!

I've posted on here a few times about how frustrated I've been at being CONSTANTLY hungry since my sleeve a month ago. Well, on Sunday I was out and it was cold and I was hungry because I didn't eat much breakfast because I had been eating too fast in my rush to get out the door so it got stuck in my chest, so I stopped after a few bites. Anyway, I was out at a festival and waiting to meet my friend and got hot tea with skim milk and splenda. I was fine for HOURS. Last night I had sugar free hot cocoa with protein milk, and today I had bariatric pal Chai Tea with protein (don't recommend it - very clumpy). Each time I actually felt like I had eaten enough that I was no longer hungry, which I haven't felt with any of the foods that I've tried. Should I just be eating soup?

Well I hope I will be as successful on my journey as you have been!!!

I am on omeprazole but I did wonder if this could be an issue - I needed a higher dose. I mentioned my hunger to the surgeon at my follow up, and he was really concerned that I was so hungry. He didn't mention increasing the omeprazole. He told me to talk to the nutritionist, but she had told me to talk to the obesity medicine specialist about medication... when I told this to the surgeon, he said he didn't agree with that... and told me to see the nutritionist. So I have an appointment on Friday.

Caffeine is an appetite suppressant, but I think for me, it's more that the warm liquid fills me up, because I used to hate eating soups for this reason - I would feel all bloated and gross. The earl grey tea was my first caffeine in 6 weeks, so that may have been more of a suppressant that it would normally be. I had to be off caffeine for 2 weeks before and 4 weeks after, and technically that was one day early, but I was desperate and I really like earl grey. Today is my first time having caffeinated coffee, but I only like iced coffee. I will see if the caffeine in the iced coffee keeps me full. Interestingly, I have no other effects from caffeine - I can have caffeine right before bed and it doesn't prevent me from sleeping, and it doesn't wake me up particularly. I didn't get any headaches when I stopped the caffeine. Oh, I guess it does make me poop.

Given this, I wouldn't worry that you are not losing much. That 27 lbs is where you lost the water weight that most people lose in the "shrink the liver" diet. That's when you see those amounts like 10-12 pounds. The fact that you were able to lose 27 lbs shows you're gonna do just fine!

No one knows. Apparently, it happens sometimes. Most/many people lose their hunger after surgery, but some people are still hungry. And since I was told not to eat for more than 30 minutes and I can't eat fast or I'll be in pain, I can only eat a little bit, so I'm hungry all the time. The surgeon told me to meet with the nutritionist, but she had already told me to talk to a doctor about medication, which the surgeon didn't agree with.

I've been hungry all the time since my surgery a month ago, but I haven't been craving sweets so much. I was in the grocery store today and saw all the candy which would have been a disaster for me in the past (I LOVE CANDY CORN!) but I didn't really want to eat it. I just wanted to eat "real" food. I remember how good the candy used to taste but I don't want to eat it now, maybe just because I know I won't feel good if I eat it. I have been enjoying sweet things like protein shakes but candy doesn't appeal to me, so maybe that will be the case for you?

I am going to be 5 weeks out when I have my first flight - it's only going to be 6 hours, but still long enough. I plan to buy a protein drink at the airport (I know already where they sell the kind that works). If you can look at the airport restaurants and find where they might sell a tuna fish sandwich or tacos or refried beans or bean soup, those might be your best bets. Obviously, just eat the tuna or deli meat or taco meat, not the carbs they come stuffed in or any veggies. You can also look for hummus or string cheese or hard boiled eggs at the little stores (I almost always find these). You can probably also find yogurt, but it may not be low sugar. You might be able to get a doctor's note to allow you to bring some more liquidy food through security; talk to your surgeon. Also, you can bring powdered protein through, but for best bets, have it in small amounts. You can then buy milk or mix with water. As others have said, get up to walk every hour that you are awake. This would be the time to pay extra for an aisle seat. Is this a direct flight or do you have a connection? Be aware that your core muscles will likely be very weak so you may want to check as much of your luggage as possible or ask someone (not the flight attendant; another passenger) for help putting up your bags. I say don't ask a flight attendant as they generally are not permitted to assist, and it puts them in a bad spot, since if they get injured doing a favor, they don't get worker's comp depending on the situation.

It's not easy. Be prepared for pain (really just the first few days) and lots of weird sensations in your body. Be ready to make lots of changes in your life. But so far, I'm still glad I've done it - except that I'm hungry all the time, which isn't usual or common. Your experience won't be the same as anyone else's here. You might tolerate this food but not that one. Your surgeon may permit this but not that. Every plan is different. Try to follow your surgeon's plan for best results. You will lose weight if you follow the rules, but you have to keep following the rules to keep the weight off. That's the hard part. Good luck!