SomeBigGuy

Stick to the Protein Shakes and soups as much as you can. Try different brands, because I will say the Fairlife ones tasted way better than muscle milk, and were different enough from Premier Protein that felt like I wasn't drinking the same old shake every time. Peanut Butter is relatively carb heavy, and if you're doing the pre-op diet to shrink your liver, it will offset it. I did cheat a little bit with Fage brand nonfat, unflavored greek yogurt since it was only 5g of carbs, around 17g of protein, and more of a savory meal item than a sweet one. It didn't offset my liver prep progress. I will say the pre-op diet was harder for me than the post-op, so look forward to that.

If the pain is in your lower back, it could be kidney pain from either too much calcium or protein intake. Check your macros from what you eat each day. If you're well in excess of 60g-80g of Protein, it could be putting stress on your kidneys, especially if you're on any fluid pills or kidney medicine. Double check with your PCP or surgeon to be sure. If its too much calcium, kidney stones may be a concern. The mental part is definitely the one they do not prep us for. You're simultaneously healing from having your insides rearranged, cuts healing, plus having to break and relearn habits at the same time, all around holiday eating times. It's common to feel a little bummed for no reason because your body and mind are expecting you to follow through on your habits, so they misinterpret it as something being wrong. You had a lifetime to set those habits and expectations, so rewriting all of that in a month will cause your body to freak out. I definitely recommend finding a therapist/counselor/coach to talk with, if nothing else just as someone to vent to so they can help you determine what is "wrong" when you can't find it yourself. In addition to that, keep up with your vitamins and supplements. A lack of something like B vitamins will reduce your energy, lack of Vitamin C will make you more prone to colds and other bugs going around, and lack of Vitamin D can lead to more depressed or just unusual feelings of uneasiness. Like the Protein and Calcium, be sure to keep the balance of getting enough and not overdoing it. Glad to hear you're doing well post-op, and hope things improve mentally as you find your new normal.

Just checking in, is everything ok?

Yes, my surgeon said those count toward both my protein and fluid/water goal. He said not to count any coffee, sugar/soft drinks, or anything else that could be a diuretic and dehydrate you.

Congrats on getting it scheduled! I am 9 days post op with the sleeve and doing pretty well. I'm down 14lbs since the day of surgery (39lbs since before pre-op diet last month), and already off Metformin and my blood pressure medicine. Still have my CPAP, but it feels like the pressure is too high now. I have an appointment Monday to see about getting it recalibrated. I tend to overthink things, and I will say that what I pictured in my mind was way worse than the actual procedure was. Mine was performed outpatient, and I was back at the hotel by around 7:30pm that evening, and was walking a lap or two up and down the hallway every hour. I felt really groggy and restless from the anesthesia until around midnight the day of surgery, then it was like it cleared suddenly that night. I felt way better the next day! I highly recommend picking up Gas-X to take after the surgery, because the gas pain and pressure was really the only thing making me uncomfortable afterwards. Walking also helps move the gas around and help your body absorb and expel it, so do as much as you can once you are able. Nothing too intense, but it seemed like the frequent short walks kept the gas pain out of my shoulders. Again, the most discomfort was really just the first 8 hours, and then it improved significantly. Even then, I would call it discomfort and not pain. The incisions never hurt, they just itched a little about 5-6 days after surgery, but that was minor and it went away. To be honest, the pre-op diet was more difficult than the surgery or post-op diet has been, but that was due to my poor diet habits and overeating that led to this.

@Charlie21467 - sorry to hear you ended up with Covid, that's no fun even without recently having surgery! Hoping its a mild case and you recover quickly! I just had my sleeve last week, so I haven't moved to solid foods yet, but my surgeon and their team advised me to start small when it comes time to stepping back up to normal foods. Basically after protein water, shakes, and broth, move to lower calorie cream based soups, then greek yogurt, then pudding, then cottage cheese. Once I have those, they told me to start with finer or ground meats, like canned/pouch tuna or chicken, and try mashing it up as fine as possible first. Then work up to straight out of the can. It is more processed, but the texture is more forgiving on our healing stomach tissue. They suggested I try beef last, as it tends to have more issues with intolerance after a surgery. Try a small amount of ground beef or even puree, and if you get sick off it, wait 2 days before trying again. Once tolerated, then stair step it up to more solid textures. After all of that, then work in more fibrous vegetables. They did tell me to avoid potatoes and carrots, primarily due to the large amount of starch (carbs) that will offset the fat burning, but also because my pre-op was very low carb (not quite keto level though) and reintroducing something really heavy in starch/sugar too soon could lead to vomiting. Hope this helps, and let me know if it works for you!

Agreed with these comments. Definitely up your Protein where you can and cut out excess carbs. Anything past your minimum range, and they slow down the process of burning excess fat. Also processed foods along with excess carbs can cause more fluid retention, which causes your weight on the scale to increase. Granted, that is fluid weight, and not fat weight, but it can also cause inflammation and make you feel tired and bloated.

Congrats! That is great progress! Look how much you're able to do now that you weren't even a couple months ago, its amazing! Glad your health is improving so quickly! Yeah, I'm dreading my upcoming stall. I it's "when" and not "if" it happens for everybody. Just have to remember its just your body coming to terms with the drastically different caloric intake, and it will freak out periodically along the way. As long as we stick to the plan, we're still burning fat, even though our body is offsetting the scale number with fluid retention while it panics. It took years for us to put the weight on, so anything shorter than that makes our body interpret it as a threat. Once it realizes you're maintaining your health while burning the fat, it will gradually release it. Weight loss won't be linear, it will look more like stair steps with the occasionally brief increase (again, "Fake weight" since its fluid retention) before it steps down again.

Congrats and good luck! I had mine last Monday, and had similar doubts going into it. The first 8 hours afterwards was the worst, but it wasn't so much that it hurt, it was more just an uncomfortable feeling. That combined with coming out of anesthesia and the way I overthink things didn't help, haha, but around 8 hours afterwards it started easing dramatically. I felt way better the next morning and walking was easy after that. Definitely recommend walking and Gas-X to reduce the pressure feeling. As for the scale not moving, just remember that weight loss is not linear, it comes in waves. Whenever there's a sharp change to our body, our mind overreacts because it thinks we're under threat and its trying to save our life, even if its something as simple as a diet. The fat we accumulated was as a defense measure to protect against starvation for our ancestors, but we as humans haven't adapted to the plentiful amount of food and high carbohydrate availability that we have present day. Think of our fat cells as little balloons that can store pieces of fat as a potential fuel source for starvation protection. As we go into a deficit with our calorie restriction, the body is forced to burn those pieces of fat, but those balloons remain, waiting to be filled back up again "just in case". If our body thinks it is threatened after a significant amount of that fat fuel is burned, it will temporarily fill it with water/fluid to keep the balloons in tact. This is where the "water weight" you may have heard of comes into play. So even though the fat itself is gone, those balloons are hanging on for dear life, thinking they're trying to save you. Only after some time passes, the body decides that its safe to shed those empty fat balloons, and you'll have a "whoosh" of weight loss after a stall period. These stalls can be 1 week to a couple months, which makes it very easy to get discouraged. When (not if) you get to a stall, just remember to stay the course. You had an entire lifetime to condition your body that your higher food intake was the normal amount required for survival, so it won't be convinced that everything is ok with a reduced caloric intake for a little while. Your weight loss will appear like stair steps instead of a straight line. Also anticipate slight gains during these stalls. That is just the water retention, and not fat reappearing, so think of it as "fake weight". As you get close to your final goal, and you're exercising more, remember that muscle weighs more than fat, I think about 1.5x as much. So as you build muscle, it will offset the number on the scale. That is why the scale number isn't as important in the final phase of your weight loss journey. It can be discouraging if you're only chasing the number, so keep in mind all the other victories towards the end. Think of the energy you have, an easier time breathing, the ability to do things you couldn't before, being able to wear clothes you never thought you'd fit in, and the additional years added to your life!

I can relate. I'm 48 hours post surgery, and the gas pain is real. The first 8 hours were the worst for me, but things did take a turn for the better after that. Gas-X and a lot of walking seemed to be the best thing to relieve it. No pain from the incisions either, which is kind of surprising.

It was strict, technically more strict than they post op diet, but it's doable and mine was only for 2 weeks. My scans showed significant shrinkage compared to a month ago, so I guess it worked. They said it made the procedure much easier. Only about 45 minutes. Mine was 2 protein shakes per day, 4-6oz of lean meat or fish, and leafy green veggies. No starchy ones like potatoes, carrots, or rice. I could have all the pickles I want but unfortunately I don't like them lol. The first few days when I was struggling, I was able to add a serving of low/nonfat plain Greek yogurt to my dishes for something savory. I believe it's 17g of protein, very little fat, and single digit carbs.

Quick update, I had my Sleeve yesterday. The first 8 hours was rough with the gas, but it started easing up considerably around midnight. Feeling MUCH better this morning though! Walking + Gax-X made a huge difference. Definitely do what they say regarding that to break up the gas pains. I had to get up every 2 hours to do some walking, but I got some really good sleep in between. So far so good! Hope everyone else is doing well!

My surgery isn't until Monday, but I've heard several people say the gas pain up through your shoulders is the worst part if everything goes well. Sounds like it lasts around 3-4 days, but does improve each day. I've also heard the more you walk, the faster your body processes it and gets rid of it. Anyone post-op able to confirm this? EDIT: I was typing this as @ChunkCat was responding. Thanks for confirming!

Don't worry, it will resume. It's your body panicking because of such a drastic change in a short amount of time. The week 3 stall can last for 3 weeks itself, or sometimes more. During that time, your body can still be burning fat, but its retaining fluid to keep around because it thinks you're in a starvation situation and wants to preserve space to replenish the fat cells. It won't let go of that excess fluid and old cells until it knows you're safe, which it eventually will, and it will establish a new baseline weight as long as you stick to it. You got this!

Wishing you the best of luck with your surgery! You got this!

Sorry I missed your post. Thanks for all the info, it's really helpful. I'm flying out on Saturday and my surgery is on Monday. Excited and nervous at the same time, but I definitely feel that its the best thing for me to do at this point.

I'm going the self pay route with Blossom Bariatrics, but was given similar timelines when I spoke with folks with Dr Shillingford and the Nicholson Clinics, but generally scheduling could be done 3 weeks out with 2 weeks of pre-op diet for a Sleeve procedure. From first call to the surgery is generally 1 month, but sounds like it could be less in some cases. RNY, DS, and revisions required considerably more time to plan for. Far fewer hoops to have to jump through going this route, though. I'm only going this route because my insurance declines anything related to bariatric surgery. My previous employer's insurance would only cover a lap band, and it required a year of meetings. If I missed one, or gained any weight between sessions, I had to start over, which is ridiculous. Also they didn't cover any counseling, which I definitely recommend signing up for! It's just as much mental as it is physical! I'd rather not have the equivalent of a car payment hanging over my head, but my health has been declining significantly the last few years and I need a change. My job isn't forgiving with PTO either, and it was all I could do to take the 3 days off for the week of Thanksgiving to get mine done next Monday. It's a small business, so FMLA isn't an option, so I have to go back to work the next Monday.

Congrats! Glad you are doing so well with this!

Also don't forget possible "excess weight" from any loose skin and also fluid retention from certain foods, but also from building muscle during your workouts. You can continue to burn fat, which is the weight loss you want, but may add pounds on the scale since muscle weights roughly 1.5x that of fat. That's why the NSV's become more important towards the end. You may not be the goal weight number, but your BMI may already be there.

Same here! Good luck with your surgery!

Half way through my pre op diet. I haven't done the best with it, yet I'm down 22 lbs in a little over a week. I checked with my doctor since that didn't seem right, and it seems I was retaining way more fluid than I thought due to my previously poor diet and exercise. Hoping I don't burn out on protein shakes before surgery haha. Joking aside, the headaches and fatigue are really disruptive, as are the frequent bathroom trips from all the water.

Thanks for the feedback and welcome back! It looks like I'll be going the self pay fast track route too. I have decent pain tolerance, but not hunger tolerance haha. The pre-op diet hasn't been fun so far, but its manageable. I definitely needed to do something before my health problems got any more disruptive. I have to say, so far the communication with Blossom has been great. They've been more forthcoming with things than other clinics I talked too before deciding on them. Others seemed kind of shady around their success/failure rates, but they've been upfront with me on all of that. The billing/pricing is the only area that there was some ambiguity at first, but I went back to them expressing my concerns and they cleared things up. I imagine my experience is different from others due to my procedure being self pay, versus all the nonsense involved with the insurance industry as a whole. I'd also like to hear feedback about after the surgery. I think I'm overthinking and researching things, so any info is much appreciated!

Anyone around that would mind sharing their experience with Blossom? I'm scheduled with them later this month, and was wondering if anyone has had an experience with them since this discussion dropped off last year?

Mine is scheduled November 20. Pre-Op diet started today, so trying to power through that. Good luck everyone with your procedures!

Our bodies tend to retain fluids when rapid weight loss occurs, and can hang on to it for a few weeks until it knows everything is ok, and it can resume with the weight loss. Any IV's can also add to the fluid retention you're currently experiencing, which makes it easy to gain for a week or so, but its just water/fluids, and not fat, which is what you really want to lose. You can still be burning away the fat during this phase despite the scale saying otherwise. Also as you go further on your weight loss journey, you'll gain more muscle mass from working out more, and muscle is roughly 1.5x the weight of fat. So if you're doing significantly more walking and/or lifting weights, that will offset the scale losses, but you're becoming much healthier in the process.