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17 lbs in one month at your weight this far out i think is not the norm. have you lost further weight since august? i.e., what do u weigh now? aside: we are roughly the same stats (tho im 5+ yrs out) and while i have been known to drop 5 lbs unwittingly in a month, i've never experienced a 17 lbs drop in a single month since way back in my 1st or 2nd month post op...but i weighed over 200 lbs back then) hopefully your doc/team has some answers for u now? ❤️ also: are you eating enough calories to maintain your weight, do u know? i have found that i need to eat alot of low volume, high calorie stuff to meet my caloric maintenance needs (and yes, often times this includes items not necessarily on a "healthy" food diet)

Hi friends! I’m now 9 days post op. I’m in the puréed food stage and although my diet plan had this amazing sounding broccoli and cheese soup (puréed) recipe, it did not set well on my tummy. I ended up experiencing my first “dumping syndrome” last night as a result of about 3 teaspoons of that soup. I’ll say it has been a challenge to learn what my body will and will not tolerate. Just because it’s in a recipe book doesn’t always mean YOUR body can handle it. The experience I’ve had so far was that when I take a bite of something I’ll sit and let it digest a little to see how my belly feels about it. Most of the time it responds with gassy feelings, but the times where it feels PAINFUL, usually means it’s a no for me, at least for this stage. But last night the soup gave me no indication that it was going to end badly, so I had three teaspoons-to my delight as my family was eating it too-so I didn’t feel so “odd-man out” for this meal. But regardless, I’m feeling that cheeses, even smooth cheeses, for me may not be an option right now. If you’ve experienced the “dump”, what are some of the indicators you’ve had to tell you BEWARE? Also, did you feel absolutely depleted afterward? I felt like I just ran a marathon and all I wanted was rest. It was awful!

Sometimes life just throws crap at you & I’m sorry you are the target at the moment. So it is understandable that you are trying to comfort yourself & food is the go to for many of us. Realising this is what you are doing is your first step so you already are on your way to getting back on track. I’d go back to how you were eating when you neared your final weight. This will be closest to the way of eating that best complemented your needs & lifestyle. You could start by making one or two changes a week so it’s easier to transition during this stressful time. May be start with checking your portion sizes & ensure you’re getting in your protein & fluids. Track your food so you can ensure you’re getting in your nutrients but not exceeding calories. Focus on your protein, vegetables & carbs last. Cut out the biscuits & any other snacks that may not support your weight loss. Reassess your shopping so you are purchasing predominantly nutrient dense foods. Contact your dietician for a phone appointment until you can find someone in your new location to help you refocus. I agree about finding a way to release some of your stress & tensions. Are you still finding time for yourself to do some sort of activity? Even a short walk (if the weather is okay) can help. Find a warm, quiet spot in the sun & sip a cup of tea - soothing & calming & an opportunity to breathe & relax. Doesn't matter how long it takes to refocus yourself. You’ll get there in your time. Hopefully things will turn around for you & your husband soon. All the best.

I'm not sure how many months out from surgery you are, but it sounds like the goal you set and the weight your body wants to be right now are at odds. Are you dangerously underweight at this point, or experiencing other serious negative side effects from losing weight? If not, I would suggest riding it out. Continue to eat nutrient dense foods in reasonable portions to the point of feeling satisfied from them, get a healthy amount of exercise, and ignore the numbers on the scale or the reflection in the mirror for a while until your body has a chance to figure itself out on its own time. I think most of the time, it sorts itself out. When my brother had his VSG 15 years ago, he had a period of several months, maybe 12-18 months after his surgery, where he was very skinny, to the point of him being a little concerned (and self-conscious about it since he was used to being a big guy). And then it all kind of fell into place without him having to do anything drastic.

I agree. Yes your relationship with food is supposed to change but the surgery doesn’t do this you have to do this work. The surgery just gives you the time to reflect on your relationship: the how, why, when & what you eat. Many find the support of a therapist helpful during this time. The pain in your tummy you feel is likely stomach acid not real hunger. Much like a rumbling tummy is often called hunger pangs/pain but usually is that excess acid & just your digestive system working & again not real hunger. There’s a lot to learn about your body & your signals. My real hunger signals are restlessness. I feel like something is wrong but at first I don’t know what & there is a reason I feel hungry - I haven’t eaten in a few hours or I only ate part of my earlier meal.. I never want a specific food, flavour or texture (that’s head hunger) just food & I choose protein dense food. I’m 4.5 yrs post sleeve & have basically maintained. Things I found that helped include eating to a routine. I don’t eat unless it’s time to eat. I eat slowly. I ask myself if I need the next bite or just want it. I watch my portion sizes & never eat more than the portion. (Don’t mind if I don’t eat all my portion.) I consider the value of the food I choose - nutrient dense, predominantly low processed foods. Highly processed food is know to suppress your satiety hormone & stimulate your hunger hormones. (Recently I read that an easy way to judge how processed a food is, is to read the ingredient list. The more synthetic ingredients or ingredients you don’t recognise as real food the more processed it is. Ingredients in traditional rolled oats are just oats so low processed. In Quakers instant oats, as an example, there’s oats, sugar, flavours, salt, calcium carbonate, guar gum, pyridone hydrochloride, etc. so more highly processed.) Just some things you might want to consider.

It's been just over 3 years since I had my RNY (12/31/19). I am so glad I made the decision to do this. It's not easy and there are challenges, but I feel so much better in my own skin. Stats: 5'10; 44 years old Starting Weight: 336 Surgery weight: 292 Lowest weight: 155 Current weight: 172 Wins in 2022: Last year I really wanted to focus on strength and stamina. I set a bucket list goal of climbing Kilimanjaro (I did it in June!) and spent the first half of the year getting in shape for that. That included regular hikes, but also yoga and strength training classes to build muscle and flexibility. I also did a lot of time on the treadmill at incline (I hate the treadmill - but it served it's purpose). In the second half of the year I wanted to keep growing strength, stamina and flexibility but in a way I enjoy so I started HIIT classes. They are a great workout, give me cardio and strength in one which is a huge win. I also still do yoga once a week and try to hike when I can. At the end of the year I am the strongest and healthiest I can ever recall being. I also did a TON of traveling in 2022 which was great for my mental health. I got to see Equador, the Galapagos, Costa Rice, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Alaska, Victoria CA, Little Cayman, and other places in the US West. It's been amazing. Goals for 2023: In addition to continuing to grow on my physical fitness gains from 2022, this year I need to work on my relationship with food. In general I eat much healthier than I did pre-surgery (I was a total carb addict and rarely ate protein or vegetables), however I still struggle with emotional eating and moderation for trigger foods. I am very consciously NOT dieting. There will be times I eat pasta or sweets but I don't want to eat because I'm bored or <insert any emotion here>. I also want to be aware of the scale, I really want to stay between my low weight and where I am now, but not ruled by it. I'm not sure exactly what this will look like, but will figure it it. I also start a new job in a couple of weeks. I'm super excited about the role and the challenge it will present. It will mean a lot less time to travel, but I'm ready to take on something new. My goal (aside from doing well at the job) is to find a way to balance work and life in a more sustainable way that I have in the past. I hope all of you have an amazing 2023 and good luck in your journey's! Lori

You totally got this!! It’s mind over matter. Once you get into that preop phase, it all changes. You have to be willing to choose NEW you over OLD you. The more you say no to the things that tempt you so much, the easier it becomes. The people we love are not likely to stop eating the things that we love just because WE do. I began to say no when I realized that it was derailing my progress. My surgery is in 3 days and I am down 32 lbs already just being more strict. I wanted to have my MIND ready for what is to come so I’ve been doing this for about 3 months now and it’s done so good. Once you begin to see your progress on the scale and when people say “you look slimmer” it becomes easier and easier to say no, even though you want to say yes. Trust me, I am no stranger to temptation! I wanted to say yes so many times this past week alone, but I refuse to be a slave to the food that held me captive and stole my confidence. Once I’m able to eat again, I will slowly implement the foods I loved, but differently. Starch-free and low cab/sugar/fat everything. At this point I’d kill just to chew solid food of ANY kind! Haha. It’s not an easy road, but neither is the commitment that you’re maki by by taking this step! Train your brain to avoid those temptations as much as you can and know YOU. GOT. THIS.. and you’re worth it! wishing you love and success! Savanna

I am preop and was just reading through the folder my surgeon's office has given me. There's a section called keeping the weight off where they talk about portions after you've gotten past the honeymoon period. They say that a meal should be 3-4 oz of lean protein with 20-25g protein, 1/2 cup of whole grain or starchy vegetables, and then half of the plate is leafy/non-starchy veg and fruit. The most important part for me was where they said: Sometimes portion sizes increase over time. If you feel you are able to eat more at meals, increase the portion of non-starchy vegetables. I would start there, because I think the tendency as appetite increases is to grab a bigger plate and increase everything proportionally. So now you may be eating 5-6 oz protein and 3/4 to 1 cup of starch or grain. And maybe adding in more sauces, more fats, a piece of bread, some alcohol, juice, some sweet treats, a daily snack. My surgeon's plan emphasizes keeping to 3 meals per day without snacking once you're past the first few weeks where you need to supplement with protein shakes just to meet minimum protein goals. But if you can regularly get 20-25g protein at a meal, plus 1/2 cup starch or grain and some veg/fruit, you don't need to eat more than 3 times per day, 4-6 hours apart. This is something that isn't always made clear. When I started this journey, I was certain that gastric bypass would mean having to eat lots of small meals all throughout the day, which is exactly what I'm being told not to do! But you do need to get at least 64oz of water or more all the time, and you can add as much veg and fruit as you need to feel full. I think that is where I would start in your position. Go back to measuring your meals, setting timers to remind you when your meal times are if you need to, eating only food you prepare yourself and/or know exactly what's in it. Check your cupboards for temptations and get rid of them. Pay attention to the urges you have to do something that isn't part of your plan, because that's probably going to show you the problem areas and help you figure out how to change. And most of all, give yourself a little bit of grace, because this isn't easy (no matter what people try to say). Take care of yourself. Get enough sleep. Get fresh air and exercise. Be kind to yourself.

Hi all, can’t say how relieved I am in some ways to hear people are having the same challenges. Had the sleeve on 10/30 and while have lost 21kg / 46lba so far, if anything it’s getting a lot tougher. On one hand the extra energy and the ability to wear clothes several sizes smaller is an absolute win that genuinely has made me laugh out loud at times. Just really struggling with eating and drinking. Am only getting maybe 50% of the recommended water daily and even that’s a massive, massive fight. A cup of water can take 2 hours to drink or on days like today even longer. As for three small meals of soft food, I’d probably kill to manage that right now. A few spoons of protein yoghurt for breakfast and if am lucky a few spoons of puréed potato / fish / scrambled egg is about as much as I can manage (and most days I feel really uncomfortable after even that). Am taking my team, chowing everything extremely carefully but no joy. Per diet plan should be moving on from puréed food to soft food but after trying it for two days, looks like it’s a no go. Interestingly am not in the US (am in Poland these days) and here the approach was quite different. There was no specific pre-op diet at all which I found weird. That said, surgeon was incredible and the surgery itself went very well. I guess he felt confident enough shifting an enlarged liver (I have fatty liver disease anyway so maybe he thought that it may not help enough to make it worthwhile) Anyway, good luck all

My dietitian explained the reason the diet progresses so slow is because there are a lot of sutures holding your stomach (and intenstines) together and you want those raw edges to heal together without the obstruction of bits of food getting in their way irritating them. You want nice, smoothly healed suture lines. I don't think you've done irreversible damage from going off plan, but I agree with the others, I'd examine why you felt you needed to go off plan, and I'd return to it. If you feel you've healed faster than others and should advance, call your team and talk to them about it. They might let you advance sooner, or they might tell you to stay the course. This surgery and the aftermath take a lot of willpower. We can choose to stay with the guidelines we've been given from our team, or we can do our own thing, but there will be consequences for each choice. If you bend the rules for earlier food progression, will you bend the rules when it comes to what you should eat as you begin to lose weight? Will you go off course throughout your weight loss phase because you don't feel like adhering to it? We all have those moments, it is understandable, we are human. But we have to be willing to confront ourselves when we do have those moments and look deeper into what is going on there that caused us to make those choices. Because one choice is one choice, but one choice made repeatedly is a pattern, and a pattern can either heal or hinder us.

I'm sorry you're facing such difficulties. It sounds like you have a lot on your mind and it gets harder to plan and care for yourself the way you want to when you're trying to manage so much. Honestly, it's very possible that letting yourself have a good cry/scream, loud music (whatever helps you feel some release of tension) can help get you back on track. Finding another way to comfort yourself, like a warm bath, comfy blanket, hot tea, etc could replace the food.

Croissant w/ turkey bacon and cheese I’m always surprised (and annoyed) at how many calories are in the foods I make at home. I won’t be repeating this meal for a while. 🫠 😂

Plans can be different but the best advice is always to follow your surgeon’s plan (& never what someone on Facebook or TikTok advises who often post just for attention & shock value). The staged return to eating solid food is there to support your healing & protect your healing tummy. Remember all those staples & sutures holding your digestive system together. (Read there can be up to 10 inches of sutures - imagine that on your arm or leg 😱.) There are also many nerves cut so you can’t really tell if you are doing damage or not. It takes about 8 weeks for your tummy to fully heal post surgery. Yes the shakes can be hideous, I made myself have one a day then drank soups - comsummes, broths, creams (thin them with additional water or milk as you need & ensure they have no solid matter). Bone broths are excellent too. Blend yoghurt with milk to make a drink or make your own protein shakes using protein powder. It’s only two weeks & you’ll get through it. Many of us actually find purée stage more challenging from a texture & flavour perspective. Protein water is an option too. Gotta work at getting at least close to your daily protein goals.

Being on solid foods for 3 weeks tracks relatively closely to what my plan will be. My hospital only does a 2 day pre-op liquid diet, and then you are on liquid/soft dairy (yogurt, pudding) for about 10 days. They generally do the surgeries on a Monday and you go to a class the following Thursday, although I will have mine on a Wednesday, and I think I will still go to the Thursday class, so it's only just over a week for me. After the class, we're advanced to stage 4 for about 4 weeks, which includes soft/moist meats like chicken thigh, fish, and eggs, along with soft cooked veg and fruits. The only thing that doesn't match up with my plan is the cucumbers because raw veg isn't allowed until stage 5, which is at roughly 6 weeks post-op. But frankly, cucumber is almost all water once you chew it, so the volume is minimal despite looking large. My program doesn't bother with purees. We're just told to chew thoroughly. As others have said, you may not feel full this early because of nerves not being fully healed, so just watch your portions. If you've lost 25lbs in 4 weeks, I hardly would call that doomed! I would double check with your nutritionist about portions, make sure you chew thoroughly, and keep making healthy food choices like you're doing. You may just not have as much swelling as some do, which would explain the ability to eat closer to a normal post-surgery capacity right away. Just because you can eat a couple of eggs doesn't mean you'll soon be able to eat a 24oz steak and sides!

Had my surgery Dec 1st! All went as planned and I think I’ve been pretty lucky. I have my 2 week checkup tomorrow with my doctor. So far I’ve only thrown up once and haven’t had any dumping or gas pains or anything. The only thing is a couple days this week I felt a little dizzy and weak, I think maybe dehydration or not getting enough calories. But I’m working on it and trying to hit my fluid goals a little higher each day. I’m very sick of protein shakes lol. I have to do 3 weeks of full liquids so definitely looking forward to soft foods Dec 22. I just tried cream of chicken soup (98% fat free, strained) tonight and it was such a treat to break things up.

You are not going to fail! You are so strong!!! You have alreay made leaps and bounds toward a better you. Dont worry about one fry. Did it taste good? Has your taste changed since your surgery? I am a huge pasta and pastry lover. To make matters worse, I made a human just like me and have married and man who can eat all day and night with no weight gain. Since I was loosing so well on my own, I wanted to schedule a Spaghetti night prior to surgery but felt guilty even thinking about it. I was going to my last nutrition appointment and told my nutritionist about my plans. She said so it! If we deprive ourselves, we will only want it more and then end up over doing. That night, I came home cooked a huge pot of sauce and boiled the noodles. I did walk that day to make myself feel better and that night settled in for my last big bowl of pasta. The anticipation was far better. It did not taste as good as I remembered and did not provide the comfort I had anticipated. I felt like I had cheated myself but at the same time, glad I got it out of my system. Surgery is tomorrow and I am down 55 lbs since I started. Morale of the story - you are human! Eat in moderation, exercise daily, and enjoy the ride! Don't have off limit food! But when you do have the not healthy kind, think about the taste, texture, and how you felt before, while, and after. Best wishes to you.

As @summerseeker was told, 65% or so weight loss is about the average excess weight loss for Roux-en-Y (RNY). Personally, I find such averages to be next to useless. I'm not average. Heck, it's axiomatic that the average person is not average. At any rate, what to expect. My plan is forever. From day 1 post-op I was intent that I would never be on a weight loss diet ever again. My plan is foods I enjoy that fit my life goals. No crash diets. No counting calories, carbs, or whatever. No weighing myself at home. Working out is one of those things everyone agrees needs to be done which I didn't do. Ever. There is nothing like exercising for it's own sake. No thanks. I did do a lot of walking, what my spouse and I call 'people watching.' When I got down to about 100 pounds overweight I challenged myself to run 5K. I did a plan similar to "Couch to 5K" (C25K). When I got to 5k I realized I enjoyed it, so I kept doing it. I started binge running. Running was a time just for me, that I could contemplate the coming day and listen to audiobooks. A great start or end to a day. Long story short, I ended up running 5 marathons. That is something I never thought I'd do. I got to run across the Golden Gate Bridge. Extra skin for me was inevitable. My deflated stomach hung way down. To a lesser extent all the places one would expect extra skin I had it. I started with an Abdominoplasty, after which a bleeding disorder almost killed me. No more elective surgeries for me. So I've had to get used to things as they are. Not the end of the world. What life is like now. I've been my current weight for about 17 years which is a weight loss of a bit over 500 pounds. I am still happily eating to plan. Some of the things I wanted to do after I lost weight I didn't end up doing. Other things I never thought about I thoroughly enjoy. Mostly, things just got easier. Good luck, Tek

I am turning 50 in a few months, and I've struggled with my weight most of my life. At 26, my BMI was probably around 30, but I didn't have the health issues so it was just a nuisance to me. I tried dieting and healthy eating for years, but my weight increased steadily in typical yo-yo fashion. Post-pregnancies, I spent my late 30s and early 40s in the 35-39 BMI range and started getting co-morbidities. By the time my BMI hit 40 this past year, I was aching in my feet and joints, had high blood pressure and cholesterol, and was prediabetic. So it's not about weight or appearance at this point but getting control of my health now, while my body can still bounce back and hopefully age more gracefully. I feel like I'm at that tipping point where if I don't act, the next decade will not end well and I will not have a good time of my senior years. This is despite all my best intentions and 7 years of actively going to a weight management doctor. All of that is to say that trying hard and knowing the right things to do rarely leads to success if you are prone to obesity. It's a disease, not a moral failing, no matter what people tell you. Unlike dieting, weight loss surgery provides lasting metabolic changes, as close to a cure as you can get. And you still will have to make all the lifestyle changes you would need to do anyway to lose weight, but they will actually work (instead of spending the next 24 years getting bigger and less healthy like I did). I have posted frequently about what a huge fan I am of Dr. Matthew Weiner's books, YouTube videos, and new podcast. Honestly, his books were life changing for me in terms of my perspective. I highly recommend starting there. He has 3 books, one is called Pound of Cure and gives great, scientifically sound information on what a healthy, set-point lowering way of eating looks like and how to get there. The second is a book that explains exactly how gastric bypass and sleeve surgeries change your metabolism and why they work (it's not just a smaller stomach and eating less!). The third is a cookbook with bariatric friendly recipes and serving sizes for different stages. These books are super fast reads. You can probably get through all three in a week (minus making all the recipes, of course!). With three months to go, my suggestion is get these books and start implementing the diet changes in a deliberate way. Start exercising in a sustainable way, working up to it little by little. See how you feel. Don't do crash diets. Don't start anything, whether food or exercise, you don't think you can basically do 90% of the time for the rest of your life, because there's no such thing as doing it for long enough to lose weight and then getting to "go back to normal." This has to become your new normal, with or without surgery. In three months, if you really aren't sure about the surgery, don't do it. It'll always be there. But know that it's an additional tool that will make the hard work you have to do either way in order to keep your health for the rest of your life more likely to stick. Without it, there's a very high (but not impossible) chance you will not be able to keep your weight in a healthy range.

I agree: ongoing support is necessary or at least knowing it’s there if you do need it. The ongoing support is the main reason I stay active on this forum plus being able to pay it back by offering others support because that can reinforce my behaviours. As is reading about others’ stories like yours. I’m also glad I still see my surgeon’s colleague for follow ups (6 monthly now) & I’m 4.5 yrs out. It’s probably more of a chatty catch up now but she is there if I ever need her. I also get the worrying over small weight gains. I find myself watching the grams/ounces & not just the kilograms/pounds some days. Before surgery I’d just shrug off any gain or simply not weigh myself so I could pretend I hadn’t gained. Now I think I’ve worked too darn hard to let my weight get away from me. But sometimes life gets in the way: you or a loved one has a health issue, you’re prescribed new meds, relationship, work, financial challenges, etc. arise, & you can’t control all those things. All you can do is decide how you manage them & their impact on your life. Maybe track your food for a while to check your food choices, portions sizes, nutritional content & whether you’re still meeting your protein & fluid goals. That way you can discover where you may have drifted off track. Then start by making one or two changes then in another week or two make another change or two until you’re back on your path. All the best.

Congrats on the 16 years of success! As we get older, our metabolism likes to mess with us, haha, but this is common. My surgeon told me that after a while, some weight regain will occur, but the best way to restart things is to redo your pre-op diet for 2 weeks, just to jumpstart things. His plan is at least try to get 64oz of water a day, start with 2 protein shakes for the two meals a day where you typically eat less. On the "big meal" each day, try to get in 6 oz of meat/protein of your choice along with as much leafy greens/broccoli, cauliflower, celery, cucumbers as you can. Cut out breads, starchy veggies (potatoes, carrots, etc) for the 2 week duration. Target 60g-80g of protein, and under 50g of carbs per day (not quite keto levels, just reduced). Calorie target was around 600-1000 per day, but it is meant to be temporary and not long term, just a jump start. From my personal experience, sugar/starchy carbs tend to send my cravings off the deep end for up to 3 days after eating them. I'm having to avoid bread, cookies, cake, candy, tortillas, wraps, potatoes, carrots, rice, and oatmeal whenever I start to regain. Some artificial sweeteners seems to set me off too, but I am a recovering Type 2 diabetic. I haven't isolated which ones affect me yet, but I can drink Fairlife protein shakes without having that sugar craving, and it has Monk Fruit, Stevia, and Sucralose. First day is absolute hell, but after 3 days it eases up considerably. Give that a try for 2-3 weeks and see if that helps with the weight loss. After that time, start working in your normal foods again, but give them a few days to see if any are triggering the new weight gain to happen again to see what's worth keeping. Slowly increase your calories to find the amount that works best for you long term. You want the range that lets you have the energy you need without weight gain. Some people may be only 1000 calories, others 1200, and others may be closer to 1800, so there's no exact number that works for every single person. Good luck, and I wish you well on your journey!

I agree with Arabesque, you need to follow your plan. You were given that plan for a reason. You may feel like you've healed, but nerves were cut during the surgery and it takes them awhile to regenerate. You could be doing damage if you progress in your diet too quickly. we've all had to move through a specific progression, about or exactly the same as the one you've been given. Yes it can be frustrating and seem agonizingly slow, but it's temporary and we've all survived it! You'll be able to eat more "normal" foods soon enough. and yes - you can thin your shakes out if they're too thick (I remember not liking the thickness, either). Just add some water to them. good luck and stick to it - the first few weeks can be tough, but again, they're just temporary.

I cant afford a therapist, but I have a mental health therapist if that makes sense at all. My insurance doesn't cover the therapist that helps with food behaviors, which is so strange. I feel like this is happening because I'm feeling a bit stressed out with Christmas approaching. Since it was starting to get out of hand last week. Plus my birthday is tomorrow as well, but I don't feel like im as stressed out about that as much as I am for christmas. I have things I need to do before Christmas like go to the orchard to get apples, go to the store to get a few things for christmas dinner, go to the bank, pay bills, I have a tattoo appointment, I need to meet up with someone to give them their gift, I have my birthday dinner on Friday then my friends and I are going to the movies. I then also feel like maybe I was lacking sleep because my son would sleep when he got home from school until midnight and refused to go back to bed and every few seconds would ask me a question or turn the light on. Thankfully he's on a schedule now. So, basically I'm just stress eating? I would love to not bring junk home or if it needs to be here, then I would at least love for that stuff to be out of sight because yes "out of sight out of mind". But I get "just because it's there, doesn't me you need to eat it". If it's there I'm super tempted to eat it because for one it's there and two, it's easy to eat. *sigh* yeah I come here because like a lot of people, I do struggle still. Why does food have to be the enemy when it's our friend? Maybe I should just put whatever is in my sight up in the cupboard. If I don't do it, I don't think it will. Then I'll be forced to grab and apple or a banana. I dont ever skip my vitamins. That's one thing I make sure to do. Why won't my brain do that with the protein and water? Priorities man, those are priorities! My family is my support system and my team. I also come here every now and then for support or I message people on youtube and tik tok for some support. It does help. But I feel like I need to give my family a little reminder that I need more support especially when it comes to the bad stuff to keep it out of sight. I want to find snacks that have high protein in it like beef jerky snack packs. I can't stand protein bars. I've also been really liking cracking nuts, almonds, pecans, Walnuts and Brazil nuts, like I've only really liked almonds, but found I like all of those nuts now and I stopped eating them for a week now. Want to snack on those again. I want to like coffee, but I can't stand it made at home now after surgery 🤣 I wanted to give proffee a try. I also have fairlife ready to drink protein shakes left, but they may be expired, if not, I was thinking about trying to make a smoothie with it.

You have just had major abdominal surgery, the body has to take a lot of resources to heal from that and some of the meds we are given can affect us for weeks after. Then you have to take into account that you lost a nice chunk of weight very rapidly, causing hormones to be released into your body that are not normally that high. This impacts mood a LOT for some people, myself included. Think of it like having PMS/PMDD from hell. Irritability is very common, higher emotionality as well, sometimes depression too. Major surgery can also trigger depression and in men depression most exhibits itself as anger. Talk to your wife and GP about this. If it continues to be an issue you might want to try a medication to even things out for while you are losing... I hate when people say they feel bad for eating around me. Eat your damned food!! LOL I'm not a child, I can handle my feels about it. It is nice when people are willing to eat (at least partly) what I'm eating so I feel like a part of the gathering instead of the one in the corner with a kiddie meal, but even if no one wants to join me, I don't need pity. I need empathy and time spent with the ones I love that doesn't involve food! Or that involves food without people feeling bad for their own food. I'm not here to food shame anyone. Are you tracking your meals in Baritastic?? If not, I highly recommend you do. It helps you keep track of your routine daily food and you can see what your macros look like and get an idea for when you have room to indulge a little and when you need to stay on the straight and narrow. Sleeve surgery is a purely restrictive procedure, which means it relies heavily on dietary restriction to help you lose the weight. You have to work with it to help it accomplish this. Make sure your first focus is WATER, then protein, at least 60 grams or whatever your dietician suggests, then some healthy carbs if you have room, and then if you still have room, a bite or two of a starch or something indulgent. You shouldn't have much room for straying right now. And you may need to talk to someone about the food struggle because the food you are eating right now IS "real food" and will need to become the foundation of your eating from here on out to be able to maintain the results you get from the sleeve's weight loss. I don't say this to guilt you at all, my indulgence is dark chocolate, always has been. But the DS requires me to adhere to a low carb diet, so I get a bite of chocolate in the evening after I've hit all my goals for the day! Hence the app tracking things. LOL Be kind to yourself, you are going through some huge changes, we all are, and our bodies are under a lot of stress. What it needs most is kindness and nurturing right now, not shame and guilt. ❤️

I was also instructed to lose 10 lbs before surgery. I did initially lose that so my surgery is scheduled for January 30. Now I have monthly appts and if I regain the weight they will postpone my surgery. I have an appt on January 2 and I have gained like eight lbs back!! I am so mad at myself because I really don’t want to postpone surgery. I still have 18 days before my appt and so I’m being super strict now. Similar to what CarmenG said earlier: two protein drinks and a Factor meal in between. it’s so hard though and I totally relate! My post-op friend said it’s much easier right after surgery because you don’t feel like eating so this pre-op weight loss might be the toughest to get through! But we can do it. I’m just trying to look forward and remind myself how much I want this change in my life. I’m so close to getting surgery, and I don’t want to push the date back. I want the surgery more than I want that (unhealthy food). Hang in there!!

Holy crap. Ok, so a few things. First, just because you CAN eat these foods, doesn't mean you SHOULD. You're not even close to healed. You still have numbness from nerves being cut. You could be doing damage you can't even feel yet. There's a reason we're supposed to increase our eating in stages. Second, the amount you eat is more of a head thing than a physical thing. You cannot fit the same amount of food into your new stomach that you used to, and you shouldn't be trying to. Your pouch is only so big, and you have to remember that and start working on your head hunger and your relationship with food. Third, talk to your nutritionist about how you're eating and how to get back on track with your bariatric eating plan, because if you aren't compliant now, you'll never be able to be later on. In no way should you have been eating actual, solid foods 1 week after surgery. So before you do damage that has to be surgically fixed, reach out to a bariatric therapist to help you with your relationship with food and learning the difference between real hunger and head hunger, and your nutritionist to figure out how to map out an actual way to get on track and a realistic meal plan. You might also want to talk to a nurse practitioner about what possible damage you might have done and if there's a way to kind of fix it before it gets to a surgical level.