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Hi Sleeve to Bypass. good to know I never got the bypass. I was so worried cause of you saying the weight loss and all. I ended up in Emergency NYE as I couldn’t intake anything. I was in so much pain and extremely dehydrated. They went in and found I had to perforations. One just above the fundoplication on my oesophagus and the other in the stomach. A week in hospital on intravenous meds and now 1 week home and I am feeling so much better.

Hi all. When I was on round one journey this came From the dietician when I had my stall. The stalls are normal. A lot of you are getting active and building muscle. You’ll notice more in the measurements then the scales. Spoke with the Dr this morning and he said I can try soft soft diet. So I got off the phone and went straight for the scrambled eggs( haven’t been able to stomach them in the last 17 months) oh they were a delight and how I missed them.

4 weeks post and can’t handle more than 2 slices of deli sliced American cheese.

Hi all. Glad to hear so many doing well even with little bumps along the way. I overindulged a little in sweets around Christmas but have otherwise been doing good in keeping to the plan. I’ve been tracking weight each week and have had a few stalls but things are in a good direction. I’m down about 70 pounds from the start of the pre-op diet and 40 from surgery. I’m about 100 pounds down from my heaviest ever weight before diabetes meds, etc. It’s been about 8-10 inches in waist size on my pants. I’ve been trying to exercise more but we’ve had so many sicknesses in my house and I can’t really exercise much while coughing. My biggest goal is to get more consistent with my weekly exercise. I got a Bowflex to try to get more toning in at home.

I never did do a 5-yr anniversary post (which was like 3 months ago, oopsies). Here is a reply I made to someone's thread about being newly sleeved. I had alot of fun composing it - despite it going off an a total tangent - and thought it had a five-year-sleeve-anniversary type of feel to it so I'm putting it here! Am also adding my requisite swim suit shot, but this one is from vacay last month, and its NOT a full body shot, AND I'm half in the water, lol. Its too cold around here for me to change into one now and take a pic. Plus I'm lazy. So i give you: "5+ YEARS IN 1000 WORDS OR LESS": #### Begin #### Day 0: YES!! I'm alive! Weeks 1-2: Ouch, this kinda hurts. I detest all food and water! I'm sooo effing tired, im just gonna lay down here and be found in 3 weeks, half-eaten by wild dogs. Weeks 3-4: Oh wow, I LOVE water! Eating is such a chore. I don't want to do it. I lost HOW MUCH weight?? Whoa, this thing is gonna actually work! LET'S DO THIS! Those dogs will be very disappointed in eating me. Months 2-4: Am I ever going to eat like a normal person?? It taking me for-EVAH to eat my tiny cup of food. I am sick of people commenting on how I eat. Exercise is so much funner/easier when I'm not so big! Let me sign up for EVERYTHING! I LOVE new clothes! I am losing my hair! Who knew salad is my favourite thing on earth? Months 5-7: If one more person tells me to stop losing weight or asks if i have a disease I'm going to sic my wild dogs on them. I guess this is life now: eating tiny bits of food all day long...I guess I can do that, small price to pay for looking HAWT and feeling A-MAY-ZING. I wonder if anyone knows how full of myself I really am.... Months 8-10: OMG.I CAN'T POSSIBLY UP MY CALORIES TO MAINTENANCE LEVEL! HOW AM I GOING TO STOP LOSING WEIGHT! I AM GOING TO WITHER AWAY AND DIE! Month 11: Oh. So THAT's my maintenance calorie level. That's not so hard. I'm not going to die after all. Ok, Ok, I'll just take this ONE cigarette from you, handsome Italian guy in Italy...even though I quit cold turkey 10 years ago...it can't hurt, right? Month 14: Plastic. Surgery. Month 15: *cries* Month 16: Whoa, I'm looking even HAWT-er than before. How is this even possible? I wonder if anyone has ever exploded from being so full of themselves.... Month 17: Why hello carbs, I've missed you. bread, Pasta, Rice, we shall never be parted again! Oh, nice to meet you for the first time COVID! How long are you staying? Month 18-21: All skinny and plastic-ed up and no where to go. Eff you COVID. I guess I'll just do a little online shopping for stuff to wear when I am finally allowed out of the house. Sure, I'll have that martini for Breakfast. Hey, my hair is back to normal...and its even nicer than before. Go figure. Years 3-5: Huh. I stayed below goal weight this entire time and I am the picture of satisfactory health...does that make me awesome? I dunno...my closet is bursting with clothes...most of which I've worn maybe once or not at all. How am I still smoking??? It was only supposed to be one cigarette!!! I think I may have developed high-functioning alcoholism? Food intolerances? Who me? Nah, I can eat anything and everything, EXCEPT large amounts of sugar at one time cuz, you know, I may pass out on the couch. I may not eat as much as everyone around me, but I don't want to anyway, so there! But let me cook for you, bake for you, make copious amounts of food for you! And no, i AM NOT finished reading this menu in it's entirety...I'm about to order enough food for 5 people...you better be hungry! Today I take no medications other than for my acid reflux (which unfortunately came on due to my sleeve surgery). I eat carbs and (small amounts) of Desserts, I drink alcohol. My last physical/labs 6 months ago produced no concerns - other than an abnormal thickening of my uterine lining, but that has since resolved. I have ridiculous amounts of energy, I rarely fight with my husband, I handle stress and annoyance like a grown up. I'm digging life. Oh, and I still look HAWT. *mic drop* P.S. i also finally quit smoking 5 months and 14 days ago. yay me! hopefully I don't meet another handsome Italian with an extra cigarette in the future. Edited to add: P.P.S. sorry..i meant to just reply about the first few weeks after my sleeve surgery and food progression, but my fingers got a life of their own as I typed out my reply. plus it was kinda fun writing this. I may cut and paste this into a more appropriate thread if I find one Good Luck! ❤️ #### END ####

I cant' really speak to any of this having never been through it, and not being a medical person or counselor, but the 75 lbs - if you've lost 75 lbs since September, I'm sure you look different. It's sometimes hard to tell from month to month by looking at yourself in the mirror, so I had my husband take pictures of me - all four sides (front, back, left side, right side) - every month on the date of my surgery (in my case, the 3rd of every month). We did this every month until I hit maintenance 20 months later. It wasn't always easy to tell from one month to the next, but if I compared pictures to those taken three or four months earlier - yep - big difference!

Yeah, very common... I gained like 4 lbs. I was so offended. LOL Then I proceeded to gain and lose the same 2-4 lbs for 6 bloody weeks!! I've just now started to lose a little again. *sighs* Weight loss is not linear and fluid changes and stalls can really play with your mind. Put away the scale for a bit!!

Had my surgery on Monday. My pain only lasted a few days. Gas-X really helped for me. Not even taking Tylenol anymore. The more you move around the better. Small sips of beverages was the key for me to not overload. Not having any problems getting my required amount of liquids. Right now only doing one to one and a half protein shakes a day with a coffee cup full of strained cream soup. Hot decaf tea really helped me. My doctor told me it would be hard to get 60 plus grams of protein in the first week just to shoot for 30 to 40. I'll be on liquids and soups until next Thursday for my post-op appointment.

OP you really must stick to your plan one week post op. Yes it is really difficult for some people and I'm sorry you're one of them. Solid food a week after surgery can honestly be dangerous. You won't feel full because the nerves to your stomach have been cut and sutured and you need to let them grow back. This is why you can eat anything. You CAN, but you SHOULD NOT. Drink drink drink. If you meet your fluid goals I suspect your hunger will be easier to ignore.

Since it's so early post-op it sounds like the extraordinarily common '3 week stall' which happens 1-6 weeks post-op. The one sure fire fix is to get off the scale for a while. Good luck, Tek

Ups and down throughout the whole first year is expected. Mainly due to your body adjusting to the surgery and water weight gain too. I'm not sure how much you gained but I can tell you for myself, a 3 to 5 lbs. gain is very common, it is temporary but sometimes lasting 2 weeks, then a big drop in weight follows it. It was a normal thing for me. Still is, actually.

Surgery scheduled for 1/23. I am on day 5 and I am struggling with the two week diet. 5 shakes a day is too much. I feel so bloated and am having acid reflux. I’m trying to schedule the shakes so I’m not having one too late ( at least two hours before I go to bed) but it is difficult. I’m feeling like I need to get up at o-dark-thirty to get a shake in so I can go to bed at a decent hour without the acid reflux. Help! 

You're welcome! Happy to help. I would definitely recommend finding some sort of therapist or coach to go along with you on this journey. Like you said, they give you directions on what to eat, but not really on how to eat, or how to deal with any thing else you feel or think in the process. Even though we know we're having the surgery to change how we do things in life, I think we all underestimate how much it changes, albeit, for the better. It's not terrible by any means, but in the first month I had several moments of "why didn't anybody tell me this?" lol. My advice for the next week for you, take Gas-X, walk a little every hour, even if its just a lap or two around a hallway, and move your arms around or over your head while walking to disperse the gas build up from the surgery. I didn't have any pain from the incisions, but the gas made it uncomfortable and hard to relax. Also try to get a shot glass of water in every 30-40 minutes if possible.

It sounds like you're doing fine. Congrats on your weight loss victories!!! Part of the reason they leaned in heavy on it was because they want you to succeed, but also to a degree, they're covering their own liability and don't want to be sued for not giving you the proper advice. I would try to increase both the best you can, but don't beat yourself up if you come up shy one day. Look for more protein-dense foods and shakes to make up the difference if you can. I like the Fairlife protein shakes that have either 30g or 42g, depending on which is available. One of those can be half your protein content for a day, plus its 11-12oz of fluids! Too little protein can cause your body to run a deficit, in which it will burn off muscle rather than fat, which is not a good thing. The more muscle you can maintain, the more fat calories your body will burn to feed them, which helps with the weight loss. The increased water intake is to keep you hydrated, but it also helps you flush out the waste from what your body is breaking down during your weight loss, preventing it from backing up in your kidneys and leading to problems. But keep up the good work! Sounds like you're getting through the "regret" phase, which I'm convinced we all go through that first month or so haha. It looks like my surgery was a week before yours, and I'm already feeling much better. Hope you are too!

Yeah, the first two to three weeks will have you questioning everything about the process, but that's only due to the temporary discomfort and the idle time while resting and recovering. We all go through that phase, so you're right on track! The good thing about the sleeve, like others mentioned, is that you will eventually be able to eat all of the same things again, but now you'll have that governor in place to stop you from going overboard. Early on, just stick to the diet plan, as its more important to prevent stretching the tissue where the staples are and to prevent infections. After the first month or two, then the goal is to keep the carbs and excess calories down, as statistically you'll have the beest luck losing weight those first 6 months before it slows, and levels off around the 12-18 month mark. Its just to get that jump start on the weight loss. Each day gets easier, but it is gradual and expect the occasional "hangry" day while you adapt. You'll have days where your body will try to fight you since its used to the old foods and quantities we used to eat. It misses its snacks, but our mind and stomachs are like angry toddlers in this phase, they require some discipline. Teaching it early on makes it better on the long run, but be ready for the temper tantrums haha. I'm approaching 2 months from my surgery and I have to say the first 2 weeks were fear/regret, then that subsided in weeks 3-4, and I was more upset about "well I feel like I can eat x, y, or z again, why can't I?", then even that started to subside on Week 5. I will say to avoid excess sugar, as that will still set my cravings off. I made multiple mistakes sampling cookies and cake over the holidays, and the following 2-3 days I would be craving it constantly and getting angry about it. Forcing myself past those 2-3 days, focussing on protein and more savory foods, and the obsessive craving went away. For the gas pain, definitely find some Gas-X or similar medication from a pharmacy. That helped me a lot the first month. Also, while walking, do some arm exercises like lifting over your head, windmill stretches, etc., and that will help disperse some of the gas. That really helped to get rid of my shoulder pain from it.

oh yes - those first few weeks are tough and I remember questioning whether or not I did the right thing. But those will fly by and soon everything will be much easier and you'll be glad you did it. and yes - you will eventually be able to eat the foods you love (although in smaller quantities). As time went on, I could add more and more foods - and by the sixth-month mark, all food restrictions were dropped.

Thanks all. I am still losing weight each week so it wouldn't be for any time soon, I was just wondering about it for an extra energy boost at a later date when I am sure I might reach a plateau. I had seen it really heavily plugged on a bariatric blog so was wondering about it.

You can do what you can do but do remember those cut nerves are still healing (about 8 weeks to be fully healed) so messages may nit be getting through as well or quickly. Probably best to tread more carefully for a few more weeks. Personally I still can’t chug. Any more than two mouthfuls & groan. But I drink slowly all day & night rarely feel really thirsty. I keep at a good hydration level all day I think.

At first it was because, even though I completed my requirements in early October, the first available surgery date was end of December. And then my hospital abruptly cancelled all surgeries and closed the weight management center 3 weeks before my surgery, so I had to get established with a new hospital (one that is owned by the same big healthcare company that owns several hospitals in the Boston area). It was a real shock. The first available appointment was early January at the new place. Luckily, they've accepted all my prior appointments to fulfil the requirements, and they allowed me to schedule my surgery after one meeting with the surgeon and dietician, which I was able to do that same day last week. Now I'm scheduled for February 21 and am counting the days while fearing something will go wrong again.

I went through three sizes of new knickers & 3 sizes of bras. Gets expensive. Yikes! My advice is to do get properly fitted for bras. You may be surprised how much the shape of your boobs change. And yes empty breast are real but I see you’re thinking of having a breast lift in the future so empty boobs won’t be a long term thing for you.

Twinning! I had steak this week too & was looking forward to it but I overcooked it. Got distracted and … It wasn’t its usual tender juicy goodness. So disappointed. And I made caramelised onions this morning (for the second tart I’m making). Been using my new Kitchen Aid food processor for my prep. I love it. Plus I got it on sale so yay!

Today was a week since I had my gastric sleeve surgery. I'm feeling perfectly fine, but I feel constantly hungry. I already included solid food to my diet bc I just can't be satisfied drinking liquids like chicken broth or protein shakes or creemt souos, they do not help at all like it was when I was on pre op diet. I should say that I kinda nervous that I already add solid food, but my body reacts fine. I never felt this "plumb" feeling that many people spoke about. I can easily swallow any food. Is anyone else having same issue with a hunger? How long does it take to you feel satisfied with small portions of food? Honestly, I started regretting about surgery, I expected it would help with food cravings but in fact I'm just limited in portions and feel hungry all the time

Made it to day 2 post op! Not so much in pain, but get some very uncomfortable stomach feelings or cramps. They prescribed oxy and liquid Tylenol which I’ve been taking pretty much every 3-4 hours (woke up every three hours the first night following the procedure). Otherwise I’ve been up and walking in between napping - very tired! I had my procedure Thursday and was planning to go back into my office on Tuesday. Based on how tired I am, I will probably work from home the whole week following the procedure. My dietary guidelines are as follows: Day 1 (procedure day) & Day 2: Clear liquids, supposed to have 64 oz of Gatorade or a diluted fruit juice but I haven’t been able to drink that much at all. They said the first two days are the worst as your stomach heals, so hoping tomorrow is better. 4 weeks: Full liquid diet 2 weeks: Blended/pureed foods 4 weeks: Soft foods Regular food I feel ready but am a little nervous for the amount of drinking I’ll be doing at the office!

I had a 6 week follow up with my surgeons bariatric team.. I was asked how things were going and how I felt I was doing.. I went in with some many questions and concerns in hope of making myself feel better and not feel so overwhelmed.. I left my appointment feeling like I have not done anything right. I was told that I am not eating enough protein and that I was not drinking enough liquid. I don't know how much more I can do. All day I feel like I am either drinking my water, eating something or waiting the 30 minutes between so I am not sick. I knew this would be hard and it would take some time to get used to my new life/ routine but todays appointment makes me wonder if I made a mistake of getting the surgery.. I got back in 2 months. I hope it is a better appointment thank you for letting vent...

a pound is likely just a normal fluctuation. People's weight goes up and down all the time. Have something salty the night before? Weight is up the next morning. Haven't defecated in a couple of days? Weight is up. That time of the month? Weight up a couple of pounds. If it's just a pound and you only started your new routine a week ago, it could just be that - a normal fluctuation. Check again in a couple of days and see where you're at.