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Hi, I just recently discovered Blossom. In Vegas right? is the "fast track" really the price they say? I'm still waiting for them to contact me. Other places that have "fast track" have quoted me at 22k...cash only 😕

Well this was covered to the hilt but let me add mix it up a little bump calories up a little then slam them down to break the stalls also intermittent fasting can break em also

I am also obsessing about plastics. I want those fat cells and extra skin GONE!!! I am 40lbs from goal weight of 160 I am 5’9”. But I may want to drop down to 150? Not sure yet. But omg I want plastics NOW. The rashes and sweat under skin folds while I work. Is annoying to me. Also I have a very physical job where sometimes I have to crawl and the skin folds slap together if I care too fast! It’s embarrassing! Patience is a virtue I don’t have. But I’m working on it slowly slowly

I had read previously that the impact of very low calories on BMR due to WLS surgery is different than someone who consumes very low calories without surgery (as in the biggest loser shows)...it was written by Dr David Fung, the doctor who advocates for fasting (he said fasting had the same impact on BMR as weight loss surgery). I will see if I can find that piece. I did find this though, you may find it useful https://www.obesityhelp.com/articles/your-metabolism-how-it-works-with-wls-pre-op-long-term/ And this as well https://thefastingmethod.com/biggest-loser-diet-explained/

Now that I'm in maintenance I could probably eat McDonald's (or other fast food), but I'm sure I could never handle an entire burger and fries due to the volume. However, I've never tried and haven't been tempted. I have found very few foods I can't tolerate at this point. My main problem is overeating from time to time, but as a rule I don't crave the unhealthy foods I used to love. As Arabesque said, it's a matter of choices, and none of us are likely to make perfect choices for the rest of our lives. It's okay to indulge now and then if you would otherwise feel too deprived, as long as you don't make it a habit. I will admit that I've eaten a scoop of ice cream a few times since reaching maintenance! 🙂

Part of this journey is to work out what works for you to maintain your weight loss & complements your lifestyle. If for you, that includes some fast food & your weight loss tool can tolerate it, that’s your choice. Honestly, I never enjoyed fast food burgers. Give me a real Aussie steak burger any day - steak on a crunchy roll, with lettuce, cucumber, tomato, beetroot, pineapple, cheese, steak sauce,... delicious. Now, because I can only eat a small amount of food at a time, it would take me several meals to eat a single steak burger let alone any chips on the side. You could always make your own burger & fries. That way you control the ingredients, salt, sugar, carbs, fat, serving size, etc. & way less processed. Just a thought.

I never had a problem with spices and them upsetting my sleeve. I love spicy shrimp and once I got to my solids faze I ate spicy shrimp and tolerated it just fine. But like someone else said noodles and rice might not tolerate well in your new stomach just yet. I am a year out and I can barely handle 3 scoops of rice. I'll eat rice or noodles every once and a great while, but they do fill you up fast.

I’m 2 years out, (sleeve). I’ve had McNuggets a few times, one 6 piece and a 4 piece. I don’t think I had McD the first year. I might have had their scrambled eggs now that I think of it. I don’t forbid myself from it, I just really limit fast food. I do avoid fries though, that is a dangerous food for me. I could eat a lot of them.

I'm only 8 months out, but I physically could not manage to eat a McDonald's burger and fries. If I really wanted to, I could probably eat 3 bites of a 1/4 pounder, or 2 bites and maybe 10 fries? I have no desire for fast food burgers and fries though, and this is coming from someone who used to eat McDonalds or other fast food at least 5x a week, if not more. Now it's just way too greasy, and not appealing to me. When you start on solids, you will see what I mean! Your taste buds will definitely change!! Case in point, I've had a tube of cookie dough in my fridge all week (planning on making cookies with kids), and the thought of eating a spoonful of it, makes me gag. Another thing I used to love to eat!!

Hi Gang! So good to read your recent posts and catch up. I've been away for a couple weeks navigating life and wanted to pop back in and read and update. Boy can I relate to ALL the recent posts. Like others my hunger is back. Not terrible but since it was gone for about 7 weeks I certainly notice it's return. It causes me to eat too fast and then I too experience that ROCK ON THE CHEST feeling. I find I have to go walk in my backyard and gently twist at the waist to find relief after nearly every meal. The twisting and holding briefly at the waist while walking seems to help move the food or gas along a bit. You might try it if you're struggling like I am. Hope it helps! Like @Groovymommy I'm not exercising enough. I do walk for 30 minutes every evening. But it's easy and time for me to dial it up with some weights and harder cardio. Really inspiring to hear about your weight losses! I'm progressing at my slower rate and pep-talking myself into believing it's right for me. I'm 9.5 weeks post op and have lost 25.5 pounds. Hoping to say 26 pounds gone by this Tuesday at 10 weeks post. I will say my greatest joy is my daily 1 cup of Fairlife 2% chocolate milk mixed with cold brew coffee and a little whipped cream. There's no doubt it increases my hunger and the constipation but I've decided it's worth it. YUM! Also started taking Senna. Two pills right before bed and it helps keep me regular with no side effects at all. The colace was starting to make me nauseous and so I was very happy to discover the senna. Give it a try if you're struggling. Very gentle. I'm getting between 60-70 protein a day. Hit 48 oz of water daily despite by best efforts at more. And get about 800 calories a day. I know my daily carbs are a little high. My nut recommended under 40. I try and keep them at 60. And never higher than my protein. But I just can't give up that Fairlife and coffee with whip. As far as deep analysis... I've been doing some too. I sure do relate to the discoveries that come from not loving much food anymore. The desire for it is like a drug. The lack of satisfaction from it is like a little nagging whisper in my ear. I do see how other addictions can become an issue. Carbs taste good and go down well but I can only eat very little or I feel sick. And everything else is harder to digest. I think acknowledging those feelings of dissatisfaction is helping me manage them. I still see my eating like "rewards". I get those protein grams and drink that water so I can have my carb treats. I'm afraid I'm just wired that way. But really admire those who find joy in healthier things. Let me state here to make it official that I plan to kick UP the exercise starting now! My first WL goal is 60 pounds and at 25 i'm nearly halfway. Time to dial it up. So great to hear from you all. Keep popping in, Bypassers, let's help inspire one another! ONWARD!!

I realise this is maybe not the best attitude to have one week post-op - but I would feel so much better about this if I knew that one day, when I'm healthy, I can enjoy the occasional bit of fast food like everyone else. Can people who have had a bypass eat a McDonalds if they want to?

Thank you for sharing your experience. It was crazy. I've had quite a few surgeries and I always bounce back fast. This is the only time I ever had any trouble, but it was all worth it. I only has a couple days of discomfort, for what will be a whole new lifestyle! And, yes I call it Loop Duodenal Switch also, but it's the same as SADI-S and SIPS. I went into this whole thing planning to get a sleeve, then the first surgeon I saw suggested RNY. He was let go from the hospital because of COVID, so I went to a different surgeon, and had never even heard of the Loop DS until I saw him. It is great to find others who have had the Loop DS. May I ask, since your further out, how has it gone for you. Have you had any trouble with vitamin deficiencies? Sent from my moto g(6) using BariatricPal mobile app

Jason Fung and Peter Attia and many others in the field have spoken extensively about this over the past few years. Both have used fasting as part of treatment options for 1000s of patients for metabolic diseases such as obesity/diabetes/kidney disease/alzheimers etc.. Patients that lost considerable weight over short periods of time DID NOT have lose skin when using longer fasts (3 days or more) as part of their strategy... this did not include "time restricted feeding" like 16/8 which is generally not long enough to reach needed levels of autophagy. I should add, once the nutrient sensing pathways for autophagy is understood, it is very easy to see why this happens.

I find it fascinating that those that shed comparable amounts of weight at that same rate as WLS patients by extended fasting (3 - 5 days or more) have NO lose skin. Jason Fung, Peter Attia, Satchin Panda ( the godfathers of true fasting) put this down to autophagy.

I start my fasting at 7:30pm until 11:30am. I’m in bed by 9 - 9:30. I have pork rinds (zero calories) as a snack and Coke Zero . For lunch I will have a chicken salad or regular salad and a sensible dinner. I have been loosing 2 to 3 pounds a week. Going thru that stall I was sure the VSG didn’t work but once i read intermittent fasting helps I decided to try it and it worked!

Am curious if any that had the RNY procedure use intermittent fasting and if so, which method? Has it helped you? Due to my Dr changing my synthroid dosage my weight loss has went to a crawl. Just 3 lbs since July 5th and was losing 2 lbs/week before then. Am considering doing intermittent fasting to shake things up.

My stall lasted a MONTH! I started intermittent fasting and it changed my life! Stall over!

I think you're doing great for your height! You really are in the "normal weight" realm as others posted. But I understand - we all have a goal. Definitely try the intermittent fasting thing. It has helped a lot of people and it's not hard to do at all.

Based on everything I've read, plus discussions with my nutritionist and my surgeon's staff, the post-surgery weight loss is completely different for everyone. Some people lose a ton of weight really fast, others lose very slowly. The important thing is, fast or slow, it's still weight loss. Those of us who have lost quickly are going to slow down eventually, and we're all in it for the long haul. Honestly, losing quickly worries me a little bit, because I know I'm losing some muscle mass as well as fat. That's why it's really important for me to improve my protein intake as well as starting some strength-building exercise. My weight now is the lowest it's been since before I had my daughter in 2006, but I'm still a long way from Onederland. Gotta keep keepin' on! BTW I finally figured out a way to get a big dose of protein every day that I actually enjoy. Iced protein coffee! 10 oz of skim milk (or whatever milk you like) 1 scoop of Isopure (or any brand) unflavored protein powder 1 teaspoon of instant coffee 1 tablespoon of flavored coffee creamer Throw all that in a blender bottle, shake the hell out of it, then pour over ice. You could also blend it with ice to turn it into a frappuccino-type drink. Nutrition info: 240 cal, 2g fat, 20 g carbs, 20g sugars*, 35 g protein *These are mostly the sugars in milk, which are not simple sugars and do not cause dumping syndrome etc. You can cut about 5g of sugar by using sugar-free or unflavored creamer, but I love my vanilla creamer.

You are doing great losing 10 lbs . That is 100lbs in 10 months !! It goes by pretty fast too. You still have a little over a month for the wedding . I am sure you will be feeling much better. ☺️

I got "stuck" with the last 15 pounds. Intermittent fasting (IF) did the trick for me. There are lots of posts here on the topic, with good explanations of the variations of IF. Personally, I feel so much better with IF, that it is now a permanent lifestyle change. I do a 16/8 variation that works by fasting until about noon to 1 pm, and then eating all my calories before 8 pm. I do my best to exercise during the fasting state, as the body has already used up its glycogen stores in the liver and muscle, and has no option except to start breaking down fat into ketone bodies. I am NEVER hungry, and have lots of energy and mental clarity in the mornings. IF boosted me down to my goal weight and is a great tool for life.

Day 8 - on to stage two, full liquids. Today I am nauseated. New things I tried today Plain fat free yogurt with protein powder. Not very good tasting and not fun to eat. I tried a V 8 which tasted good and went down easy. Too easy I think because I had some feeling of bloat for a while afterward. Without using the medicine cups I seem to be drinking too fast. Gas is still a problem too. I lost five more pounds for a total of 15.5 since the prep diet on 7/24/20. This evening I went for a walk but I couldn’t go for that long just 15 minutes or so. I feel weak and I already have neuropathy in my feet so I have balance issues. I have exercises that I can do to promote better balance but I need permission from the surgeon to put them into action. I was also able to take all my 3x tops out of my closet because they are super loose on me. I’m donating them to a church that serves the poor in my city. I’m going to have to do something about my sluggish digestive tract. I have only gone once and that’s not typical for me at all. I have colace but they are gel caps and they are bigger then the mouth of a straw. Not sure what to do. I’ll bring it up with the doctor on Tuesday.

I don't know where you are weight-wise now, but if that 30 lbs you mentioned you still want to lose will get you to a normal BMI, then yea - the last 20 or 30 lbs are a BEAR to lose. it's not unusual for people to fill up fast on dense protein (like chicken), but be able to inhale snacky things like there's no tomorrow. That's why they recommend we focus on dense protein and low cal, highly nutritious things like fruits and vegetables. And that's what people should be focusing on anyway if they want to stay healthy, regardless of weight or surgery status. if you aren't tracking your intake, I'd start doing it. I still track everything I eat at five years out. I've learned I can maintain my weight if I stay between 1500-1700 calories a day (and that range it going to vary for everyone - you may be able to eat more or less - but if you're still trying to lose weight, then probably less....). It's really easy to go over your range and start gaining weight if you're not paying attention. The only time since surgery that I didn't track (other than a day or two here and there) was when I spent a month abroad last fall. I didn't THINK I was eating too much but....TA DA!....I came back a few pounds heavier than when I left. Easy to do. if you want to continue to lose weight, you'll have to focus on dense proteins and vegetables. They're filling and will give you the most nutritional bang for the buck. And maybe small servings of fruit, too (I could eat fruit with no problem - but some people limit it because of the sugar). If you focus on those things but STILL aren't losing weight, then you'll have to cut back on total calories, too. I didn't consistently go over 1000 per day until I was about a year out. btw....I do keep some "safe" things around for snack attacks when I get them - SF Jello, SF popsicles, Light & Fit yogurt, baby carrots, celery, Costco roasted seaweed, lots of different types of tea, lots of safe and fun things to drink, like flavored waters. I know it's really hard sometimes - but it's the only way to lose weight - or avoid gaining it. It's a daily struggle...

What post op eating plan/schedule did your surgeon give you? Are you allowed to drink an entire shake in one sitting? Did they recommend slim fast? Everyone else, what is your post op diet? For example, mine is to get 64 Oz of water and 60-80 grams of protein a day via very small one ounce increments. I do this for the first 2 weeks until my post op follow up where I advance to soft foods.

Bit confused. Just had my first shake - slim fast 325ml. Don't feel full. I didn't realise I'd be able to drink it all either.