Spinoza

I've lost well over 100lbs but it was mostly as a result of sticking to the rules of my plan and just eating much less after my surgery. Exercise contributed very little. I really only started serious cardio once I had lost most of what I wanted to. I was very sedentary before my sleeve. There are people here who have lost more than me - not sure how much they exercised and how much that contributed overall but hopefully they will let you know. There are people who have lost less. Again not sure that's much to do with how much they exercised or what type of exercise they did. I wish you all the best with your loss.

Oh wow - amazing photos. What a journey - thank you so much for sharing!!!

Oh that looks absolutely amazing 😍

Oh wow, this is amazing to hear. Do you have any tips as to how you've managed to maintain when so many of us regain??

Are you interested in answers from people who had any particular procedure? Might be difficult to answer without a little more details/specifics because certain foods pass through our new stomachs much more quickly than others. Some really quickly ('slider' foods, like chips). So one might be able to eat 3oz of chicken but 10oz of pizza. Is there anything particular worrying you about your own situation OP?

Hiya! I hope you're recovering well. How has your weight loss been since your original surgery and are you hoping for more now, or are you maintaining and just getting your reflux sorted?

Totally relate to this. I also have mega hungry days (weirdly Mondays feature heavily in those) and less hungry days. At 20 months post op I just go with it. Nuts, seeds, deli meats and cheese can satisfy me on almost all my hungry days. I prefer small volumes of those as opposed to bigger volumes of carbs (crisps/chips, bread, pizza, pasta, rice, etc.) They're basically a no-no now. Zero added nutrition - they're just the same as cake afaic. On the (very few now) days I go for those as a quick hit or they're the only available option they sit in my stomach like a lump of lead and I regret that choice. I do have days where I make bad food choices but I don't *totally* rely on my procedure to be my Jiminy Cricket. I own it up front and then claw it back.

Gonna second olive oil but suggest nuts or nut butters once you can add them. Calorific but have loads of micro nutrients too. So pleased to hear you're doing so well.

There are different types of hunger I think. Boredom was huge for me in the pre-op diet, also just wanting the mouth feel of solids (I was on shakes only too). I stuck to mine (but that's not to big me up in any way) it was really really hard. Honestly OP the surgery will help you stick to your plan post op but you don't have that help yet and it is hard, really hard, to change the habit (drive) to eat when you experience hunger. I do think you should tell your team how tough you're finding it and asking whether there is any wiggle room to get you through it. I wish you luck.

I adore that chocolate!! Haven't had it since surgery but that's one sweet treat that might *actually* be worth it, LOL.

🤢

Oh wow, that looks amazing. Totally agree re the ice cream - the 'treats' I allow myself these days, especially if they are sugary treats, are almost always disappointing. Most times I'd rather just have some cheese 😂

SleeveDiva - you've changed your name! 😍 Totally appropriate of course.

Have your team found out why you lost less than expected OP? It must be so disappointing - I know we all gear ourselves up for 60-70% with the sleeve. Some of us lose less and some more but of course we always want to be the ones who do best. I'm really sorry you're having to go through another procedure and I hope this one helps you get where you want to be. If you sit back and analyse, can you see anything you could have done differently last time? If so then this might be the time to plan ahead so that doesn't happen again. If you were just one of the unlucky ones then I suspect that if you stick rigidly to the plan again you might lose lots more if the bypass suits you better - just a bit more slowly this time as sleevediva said. I wish you all the best. Please let us know how you do xxx

Sorry what is cellulite? Lumpy fat? Is it depth of fat or the surface appearance that bothers you? And what outcome is your ideal? What, how much, and where on your body are you noticing this OP? Think that might assist people to advise you. I have all manner of skin appearance in various areas of my body after my surgery. No desire to alter that although I know lots of people need to xx

Fab - well done you!

Hi OP - I am a little concerned as to whether french toast is considered a soft food in your program. I have a sleeve so feel free to ignore, but I didn't have bread for some months after my surgery - it takes up a lot of room and gives almost nothing back in the way of nutrition. In addition to that, in the weeks immediately after surgery your stomach will be healing. Nerves have been cut that need to grow back. Sometimes we can't feel our restriction so we need to stick to tried and tested rules. Might it be worth trying the generally recommended progression: clear liquids - full liquids- pureed foods - soft foods - that most of us are asked to, even though you haven't been? Especially if your own program is causing you concern. Other than this I echo everyone else - please speak to your team and clarify what you can and cannot have right now.

Fantastic to see such a big loss so soon. Congratulations! And your surgeon was only 6lbs out (am I right?) so - also nice that you were prepared!

I just picked a weight (kinda random/outta nowhere, LOL) that I had reached by dieting strictly from a much lighter starting weight about 10 years ago and I felt suited me. It was in the middle of my 'normal' BMI and totally aspirational. I never dreamed that I would actually reach it. My surgeon and dietician prepared me to lose 60-70% of my excess weight, which would have left me with a BMI of 27/28 or so (which I would also have been thrilled with)!! I ended up losing more. I would have been equally happy had I ending up losing less - HONESTLY. My body seems to have picked its own new set weight. It's so weird - like I had little (almost no) input other than sticking to my programme. Suffice to say - trust the surgery, trust your body. Don't mess about with the rules. You'll end up where you were supposed to. xxx

So so fab to hear this gmast. Living your best life and not worrying about a few pounds or a few carbs here or there sounds absolutely the dream. We're doing this!

The pre-op diet is really difficult for all of us OP. A full 2 weeks of liquids before surgery is one of the stricter regimes I've seen but if that's what your surgeon is telling you to do then you'll need to do it. Hope it gets easier every day. I wish you the best of luck.

Hi all November 2021 people! I want to do a little update because this thread is the only 'diary' I ever actually made - it's fascinating to look back at some of the posts we all made as we went along. I hope you are all doing really well. There aren't many of us posting regularly here any more so I hope that's because you are all too busy enjoying your new life. I am but I just like it here too, LOL. So, my current weight is 139 lbs - it's gone up and down by 2 or 3 pounds within the range 137 - 140 for the last 3 or 4 months but so far no further than that, and I don't take any particular action when those couple of pounds go on. Calorie intake is still about 1300 on weekdays and probably more like 1800-2000 at weekends now (alcohol and limited snacks). I still track everything. I walk A LOT for exercise. I stopped running after a few attempts because even though I enjoyed it it was causing me pain afterwards that lasted for days and then I couldn't do my usual walks so ended up costing me exercise time! I really want to get into some weights but I have such a busy life (excuse alert!) that I am short of time after I fit in all my walks. I am thankful every day that I had this surgery. Honestly, even if I regained every pound tomorrow it would have been worth it just to have this time feeling normal and being able to do normal things. We have a family vacation starting next week that I would have dreaded before, and now I can't wait and am signing up for every single activity along with my children. I would love to hear from anyone in the original gang who still reads but doesn't post much.

Welcome Kay. This site has been a complete life-saver to me. There are lots of lovely folks with much knowledge and experience to share. And because of that if you use the search function you can usually find the answers to all your questions without even needing to ask! Best of luck with your surgery and beyond.

I'm not long term but I just wanted to sympathise. I'm sure you thought after 8 years that you had this all sorted. I'm really sorry to hear you're having a hard time. I think from about 2 years after the sleeve lots of people probably can eat much more 'normal' quantities of food, and that's when your approach to eating really matters - clearly you did it well for years and years. The people I've seen here pulling things back seem to go back to their way of eating in the immediate post op period. Track everything, make sure you get plenty of fluids. When you eat it's protein first, veg second, carbs last (or not at all). Wait at least half an hour after eating before you drink anything. However this isn't personal experience. I'm sure someone who has lived this will drop by soon to give proper advice. It's so good that you've pulled yourself up before it got too far away from you. I wish you the best of luck.

I've never heard of this but I'm making it, thank you for sharing!! My partner eats a keto diet and it'll be perfect for him too. I love things like this. 😍