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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.

Still hurting. Actually looking forward to surgery on Wednesday. Also upset because I'm probably going to miss ALL of next week. Plus the 2 days I missed last week and I will only have 3 paid days on my check on the 15th. Not only do I have bills to pay, that was supposed to cover Christmas. And not just the gifts, but the decorations, the dinner, cards, all of it. Now we'll have literally nothing. And the pain meds don't do anything but knock me out. Once I wake up, I'm in pain again. Time to take my meds and pass out. I'm so over it all....Oh, before I forget!!! Let's not leave out that I\m basically back on my stage 1 bariatric diet because when I try to ear regular food, it KILLS my hernia (it's a delayed reaction, so I'm guessing it's happening as it makes its way down my colon, or to my bowels, or wherever it goes). That was ok yesterday. But TODAY!!! Oh TODAY has been a joy because now even LIQUIDS

I had the sleeve surgery 9/26/16 and did well with it till I had my gallbladder removed in 2018 then I developed severe gastric reflux. My surgeon found that my bile duct got stuck open after they removed my gallbladder. With the bile constantly running in my sleeve it eroded it causing some precancerous changes. Once my insurance approved for a second surgery we went with changing over to a bypass in June of 2020 to fix the problem. I was very happy that we ended up doing the revision because I no longer had to sleep sitting up and my stalled weight loss finally started back up again and I was able to continue my weight loss journey. Fast forward to the present of this year I have been holding a good weight of between 137 to 145 lbs and no health issues really I just still struggled with dumping a lot cause my new pouch didn't always like food but I maintain weight with the help of shakes. Then in August of this year for some reason I just started getting where I didn't feel well and I dropped like 17 lb like it was nothing. I contacted my surgeon because I was concerned because of how weak and tired I had felt and I've noticed like vision changes my muscles or shrinking rapidly I was becoming dehydrated and all kinds of new things that I wasn't prepared for. My surgeon ordered a upper scope and a lower which come back very good. My lab showed that I did have a couple vitamin deficiencies so I increased my vitamins I actually have to go redo my labs here because I also ended up getting sick and went in the ER in my liver counts were high and they never been high before so we're checking those this week. But now I'm having a harder time eating and getting my body to absorb my nutrition even the protein shakes aren't helping maintain my body weight I am dropping weight still pretty rapidly I'm down to 124 lb now and my immune system seems to have been weakened because I get sick super easy and I try to stay away from other people otherwise that makes it harder on me and I guess get wiped out. I am currently waiting for my surgeon to call me back because I'm getting more concerned about how we come getting it's getting harder to do every daily things such as washing my hair folding my clothes and putting them away my muscles hurt and they're tired and weak and they get all cramped up. I'm blessed to have this surgery but I was never expecting that I would get this new very weird complication of just not being able to eat very well and to maintain weight. I trust my surgery team he's wonderful I'm hoping they can figure this out I'd really do not want a feeding tube or a PICC line I work with the public and that's even getting hard to do and I've almost thought about applying for disability until I get this figured out so I can quit losing weight by exertion. I'm just wondering is anybody else going through something like this or they just out of nowhere started losing weight again and they just can't seem to get it to stop. I'm worried not only for myself but for my family because my kids are still pretty young and I'm not ready to leave this world yet I still have a lot to live for. Hw: 268 SW 221lbs LW 124lns Height 5'2

Happy Birthday! A little treat won't hurt, but 2 big things: 1. Don't beat yourself up over going off of the diet once. It can easily lead to a spiral where you feel bad. Remind yourself its not a big deal when its a single event, just resume at the next meal like nothing happened, and don't let it become a daily habit! 2. Expect sugar cravings and being "hangry" for a day or two after having a sweet treat after weeks of having none. I felt ravenous after having treats over the holidays, and couldn't figure out why. I wanted to eat more than I knew I could physically handle. Our bodies are engineered to make the most of carbs because up until a hundred years or so ago, they were rare for humans to come across. Nowadays, sugar and starch are in everything, and our bodies haven't adapted to that change in food availability yet. That instinct will kick in and make you want to eat "all the carbs". The following 2-3 days, resist it and remember to stick to higher protein and savory foods until it passes.

One thing about mental hunger or cravings is that they're almost never strong enough for me to actually get into a car and drive to a store to buy something. The first few weeks, I would end up digging until I found something else to eat, but the fewer options you make available, the more you have to admit to yourself that you're just bored or (as is often my case since I work from home) procrastinating. There have been times I would find myself staring into my pantry and I'd have to ask myself what exactly I thought I would find there. It's all canned beans and pasta sauce now. Generally I just ask myself if I want a snack badly enough to drive to the store for it, and the answer is always no. Oh, and I do all my grocery shopping online for pickup now to minimize the chances of throwing impulse buys into my cart.

My Pre-op diet starts on Wednesday.. My husband and boys want me to pick my 2 last dinners for a while.. Trying to decide what I want to eat... It is crazy how they are thinking about my " last meals".. Here to about a week until surgery

I have no idea why I feel this way. I'm finally down to 1 more surgery (my hysterectomy) and then I'm totally done with hospitals. I'm healing well from my hernia surgery (even did a VERY light workout today for the first time in a month since I'm only 3 1/2 weeks out). I love my job, I'm feeling good, our rent is paid and we have plenty of food, car is running well, gas tank is full, finally stable again. Hubby and I get along great, kids and granddaughter are doing well. It's driving me nuts that I can't figure out why I feel down. Normally I'm excited about the new year. I don't get SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), and I was fine up until about 2 days ago. I don't suffer from depression, so it's just really bugging me. What in the world do I have to be down about???

that part of my brain is remembering which bars/restaurants offer buck-a-shuck oysters each day of the week. oh, and when which bars/restaurants have karaoke nights during the week... 😂😂😂😂

Hi Iv rang up and got appt next week Portions are small if OH puts it out it’s bigger but I always eat same amount and leave loads anyway I don’t eat extra even if he’s put more than I have on so much waste lol Trying to teach myself to chew chew chew and cut small bites I will see if I can remember when talking to someone at same time! I’m adding gravy and seem to do ok with chvolled tinned tomatoes Yeah chicken is hard for me I’m ok with minced beef just not much of it lol Thanks I will try chicken thighs Iv got a few protein shakes just for mornings to up my protein a bit I will look into smoothies to actually do you make your own? Or buy them I got my B12 yesterday I had forgot all about it in December then I wasn’t well and also no appts u til now but glad I have it done. Yeah trying really hard to get all meds in I have to take so many i take like 15 a day of different meds and it’s hard on my tum sometimes and run out of time to get them all in as not meant to take all together but sometimes I have to. Thanks for reply and for suggestions 😊 xx

You will get through it! Seems quite a few get feeling off. Our body's hormones have changed, not eating comfort foods, lifestyle changes are apparent. It should wear off before too long, but if it doesn't then you should talk to your Dr about it. I was in a humdrum for a week, it all seemed to change once I was able to start even eating puree and getting other food in.

I am five months postop and think I am driving myself crazy. I have not lost any weight since November 11 right before the holidays and am terrified I messed my surgery up. I indulged a little too much with carbs during Thanksgiving and Christmas. I started this journey at 285 and am currently 227. I was 269 August 29th day of the sleeve. I followed my diet to the T until holidays How do I pick my weight loss back up?? Did I ruin this for good?? I def CANNOT eat as much as I used to but I can't seem to get back to starting point of protein and 5%carbs and 5%fat limits on food items. I'm embarrassed to talk about it with anyone except this forum. All my bloodwork is great. I am doing some cardio and weights 5 days a week but not much as I'm slowly getting into it. But I feel like I've messed up my sleeve or something!! What If I did all this just to lose almost 60 pounds but to be honest I do feel the best I have in years. I just don't wanna give up I don't even know what to think about not losing weight all these months. I did gain/lose a few pounds (was 224 then was 230 now I'm 227). Am I going to be stuck at this weight forever??? Its only been 51/2 months!! Advice please!!!!

So frustrating. It's less than 4 months since your revision though - this could be a long stall as opposed to the end of your losses. I hope you start losing again soon. You've done so well, you're an inspiration.

I'm not sure what she actually meant by that, but I know I take certain comments differently now that I'm normal size than I did when I weighed almost 400 lbs. If I was eating dessert now and some friend or relative called me a "piggy" (that is, if they said it in a joking manner), I would have just assumed they were teasing me was because I was eating dessert. Before my surgery, I most definitely would have assumed they were referring to my weight. I also remember my mother-in-law teasing my 20-something niece once when we were having pizza for someone's birthday. My niece was wearing some new outfit or something - can't remember - and when she grabbed her third piece of pizza, my mother-in-law jokingly said "you'd better watch it or those pants aren't going to fit" (or something to that effect). She said it in a joking manner and I knew she wasn't referring to Sarah's weight, but Sarah is obese so at the same time, I knew exactly how she (Sarah) would have taken it - and she did. My mother-in-law has never been obese, so she wouldn't have understood how that comment was taken. When I explained it to her afterward (when the party was over and it was just me and her and my husband), she felt terrible about it. I knew she did because she brought it up several times over the course of the next week or so (she also apologized profusely to Sarah)

Hi everyone! So I am hoping to maybe get some recommendations from this lovely community. I need good walking shoes, I am supposed to be at 60 minutes of exercise a day, 6 days a week by the time I have surgery(I have about a month and a half left of supervised diet, 2 visits left!) The issue is I have been putting off new shoes for months but had my wake up call when I took my dog for a brisk 15 minute walk last night and today my feet and leg muscles hurt so much(I even tried my work slip on Crocs thinking I had issues from my sneakers due to support and it made zero difference last night). I can get the exercise in (I love hiking and walking my dog now that I no longer live on the surface of the sun) but shoes have to be addressed. From what the internet tells me, I have supination-I tend to walk on the outside of my feet(evident in the countless pairs of shoes ruined when I wore through the material on the sides). If anyone can throw me recommendations based on what worked for you personally I would be eternally grateful! I can only read so many "lists of best walking shoes for overweight women with supination" since they are all over the place...I plan to check out the Asics outlet store by my work and maybe Academy for New Balance(did I mention I'm on a super tight budget?[emoji51][emoji2360]budget for shoes is around 50-100) Thanks so much, y'all are the best! Sent from my SM-N986U using BariatricPal mobile app

Hi friends! I have a question for y’all! I am about 3 1/2 weeks post VSG and my hunger has returned with a vengeance. I’m not sure why. I’m trying to remind myself of everything I’ve learned and remind myself of things I am permitted to have. But I’ve been sampling small bites of various things to see what my tummy likes and what it doesn’t like anymore. I don’t want to fall back into old patterns and eat just because I like the taste or because I CAN tolerate it, you know?Has anyone experienced their hunger returning? Still struggling to get enough water intake so maybe that has something to do with it? I’m averaging 32oz water a day. I wish I could drink normally because I used to easily get 64 Oz/day, but sipping has shown to be a challenge for me lol. Thanks ahead of time friends!

Today is 8 days post op. It seems like my innards are awaking and they don't like me right now, but that's nothing new. Yesterday I made breakfast, took a half hour brisk walk on the treadmill, went grocery shopping and made my little 2 oz food containers, baked a cake and made dinner, then folded the laundry. All told, I'm feeling much more normal again, feeling antsy to get moving and I'm having more difficulty limiting myself than motivating myself. Before the surgery I was used to either a one hour lap swim with drills, or a one hour fast walk on the treadmill with hand weights. For the liquid diet I shortened both to about 40 min and slowed a bit, no hand weights. My body still wants to move but I know that I can't get too worked up right now, I need to heal more first. I have my first Post-op appt on Tuesday, hoping I can go back to swimming next week if my incisions are healed enough? 🤞

I’ve now been spotting/ bleeding for 100 days straight. As I sit here in tears I’m really wondering should I just had stayed fat with hair or the alternative bald and bleeding. (My hair has now come out also) I’m so tired. I’ve seen 2 different gyno, had three ultrasounds, seen several NP and nobody has an explanation as to why I will not stop bleeding. Ok that’s my rant for today 😭 .

Pre surgical diets can differ a lot but the two shakes & one meals is not uncommon. (Mine was two weeks keto.) Generally eat pretty cleanly: no sauces (pre made or own), steamed vegetables (avoid starchy vegetables like potatoes) no processed foods, watch cooking methods of your meats - low fat. Portions sizes ate likely only 3-4oz protein & a cup of vegetables. But check with your team for what they recommend for you in regards calories, portions sizes & suitable foods for that meal. I’d look at getting a set of scales which measures small increments as soon as possible. They will be invaluable as will measuring cups, spoons & jugs.

There is nothing wrong with you... First, when we have surgery, a lot of nerves are cut that need time to heal. These are the nerves that tell us we are full, or getting full. So you are not getting accurate feedback from your stomach right now. These cut nerves take several months to heal fully. I noticed a distinct change in my fullness cues around 3 months out. Second--just because you CAN eat that amount doesn't mean you SHOULD (I'm so thankful the regulars here remind us all of this early post-op). You aren't getting accurate messages about your restriction right now, and different foods will cause different feelings of restriction or lack thereof. Try to stick to the small portions your dietician should have gone over with you. You have a lot of sutures holding your healing tummy together, you don't want to stress them. Take your time here, there is no rush. Third--different foods will cause different feelings of fullness. Purees often don't cause fullness, even meat purees. When you get into soft foods you might start to feel restriction when you eat denser proteins. But again, your stomach is still healing, so it may take time to feel your restriction, and some people never feel strong restriction, or don't feel it until they are overly full. This is where it is important to measure out your portions and eat tiny bites, slowly, watching for any signs of fullness. For us post op that may feel very different than it did pre-op. For me, for the first few months, all I would get is violent sneezing, intense hiccups, runny nose, etc... It took a while before I started feeling internal pressure with fullness. Fourth--Hunger is a b***h! Some people lose it, not everyone does. I woke up in recovery STARVING!! I was so mad. 😂I felt like I'd been given a faulty surgery. LOL But it really made me learn to work with my hunger cues and to sit with the discomfort of being hungry for a while. I was very, very hungry the first few weeks because nothing feels like it has enough substance to calm that ravenous hunger. This will ease in time as you progress your diet. For now all you can do is learn to distinguish head hunger from body hunger and learn to deal with the fact that sometimes we feel hungry and that's okay. Lastly, many people can drink water freely post op. You don't list your surgery, but this is very common with gastric bypass patients, though I have seen it with sleeve patients too. Once the internal swelling goes down, many can drink water easily. This is a blessing, since dehydration is the #1 reason bariatric patients end up in the ER post op!

Courtnay, you have my sympathy, and yes it can be normal after a major surgery in that all the anesthesia and pain relief make those signals more dull, and you're less likely to rouse/awake normally at those cues. Of course sharing with your surgical team but it's not likely to continue. There are just so many mixed signals going through your body right now. I think it's kind of you to want to filter what you write here so as not to scare others but I'll go ahead and say that my fears are there and they're not dislodging🤣. Surgery is 2 weeks from tomorrow for me, I'm starting the liquid only diet tomorrow and I'm already pissed😂. I can't seem to stop borrowing from tomorrow. Le sigh.

Totally understandable, and 6 weeks of liquids is a long time to plan for. I only have 2 days of liquids pre-op and 2 weeks post-op. Are you allowed soft dairy during that time? I can have yogurt, ricotta, and sugar free pudding, plus strained cream soups. Although I don't like creamed soups, so not sure I'll bother with that option. But I know what you mean about salt in the pre-made broth. If I had room in my freezer, I would make a bunch of it. Just remember, almost everything you need can be purchased locally after surgery. You really only need a few days' worth. And if you have a nutritionist in your program, you can probably get some samples, too. Honestly, I think I've bought as many things as I have (and probably won't need) because I've had my date since early October and buying protein shakes and vitamins has been a way to ease my impatience while I wait!

My surgeon does not require the 2 week preop diet! Can anyone tell me what the diet is supposed to be the day before the surgery?

It sounds like maybe you would benefit from a stricter routine. At least, I know I tend to flounder when I am just let loose without many rules. If I have to figure out what to do every day and each day is different, I get totally off track with stuff. But when I get into a routine, it's way easier. I haven't gotten off track yet simply by virtue of not being able to eat very much right now, but I know that establishing habits and routines is the most important thing for me to do before I get to the point where I could. Here are some suggestions, just in case they help! Put your full week's worth of vitamins in a weekly pill case (I use this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C6XZN1YH). It's especially helpful if you get the kind where you can take the day's box with you for those later in the day doses like calcium. Make the same thing for breakfast and lunch every day, or have a rotation of things you can do that are all close to the same in protein value. Plan a dozen dinners that are also roughly the same in protein. Add them up and make sure any breakfast, lunch, and dinner chosen from your repertoire will hit your protein goal. If not, plan for a snack or two in the same way. Don't eat things that are not nutrient dense, and if you do have a treat on occasion, make sure you're limiting yourself to once a month, not once a day! (And if you happen to love chocolate, consider this for one of your daily calcium supplements: https://procarenow.com/products/calcium-dark-chocolate-500mg-calcium-500-iu-vitamin-d) Consider getting something like the Portion Perfection plates and meal prep containers if you struggle with portion size Buy a bariatric cookbook to help with food choices and portions Put your gym or exercise time on your calendar and treat it like you would a doctor's appointment (I struggle with this so much) Or, if you hate the gym, choose exercises you'll actually look forward to. Going to a gym is not a requirement but moving your body is. Put all your reminders for vitamins, mealtime, snack time, and exercise time in your phone so you get reminders

it's actually very common to have a rebound gain of 10-20 lbs during year 3. There was a dietitian once on Unjury's online support group who said in her clinic, they don't even consider anything less that 15% of the person's lowest weight to be a regain (so in your case, they wouldn't consider anything under a 21.6 lb gain as "regain" - it's just more-or-less expected). Granted, you're up more than that, but only by about 10 lbs. You can always lose weight again by getting back on track. If it's really tough to do that (and it can be..), maybe just make one or two small changes at a time until they become a habit. Start with something not super challenging - like logging your food intake - or taking a walk 3x a week. Or whatever...just anything that seems achievable. It all adds up in the end... A lot of people have dealt with this, so you're definitely not alone.

It seems that I am literally the only one who 100%completely regrets this surgery. I have never hated myself this much in my life. I was so obsessed with this weight loss crap for 3 yrs and now 6 weeks healed from VSG and I hate life completely now. I will never be or feel like myself again and feel I don't deserve anything good ever again. This was the worst decision of my life and I keep having ptsd flashbacks of wishing I had never done this..that I canceled when I had the chance. Why am I the only one who fully regrets this.. I can't be the only one in the world who regrets it completely... Sent from my SM-G781W using BariatricPal mobile app