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I am still figuring out what kinds of foods I can eat and in what proportions, but sometimes when I eat certain foods I get very tired afterwards. Like I have to lay down and sometimes I fall asleep for hours. Half protein, half veggie meals seem to work the best. But all protein or all carb meals seem to be the worst. Other foods I have tried randomly caused this too. I am not really eating off my plan, which is fairly balanced but calls for protein-based meals. I am not sure if it is because I am eating too much or too fast or if I just need to avoid certain foods for now. Has anyone else experienced this?

Agree w/ @JakeH, and that its different when you are in weight loss mode vs. Maintenance. I started exercising for reals at 3 months post op and kept my calories under 600 no matter if it was an exercise day or not (at 5-6 months post op I was staying under 800). Stayed ultra-low carbs (>25g NET carbs). Now, as I’m not actively trying to lose weight, I try to stay within 1800-2000 calories (but I also do some moderate to heavy exercise almost every day). My bad though, as I will admit the quality of these calories may not always be of the best kind (i.e., sugar). I try to stay under 100g NET carbs, but I don’t always succeed (i.e., sugar!) Further, I prefer to do my running/strength training in the morning, in a fasted state. It may just be me, but I feel more energetic and nimble when my stomach is empty. Food makes me feel lazy and sluggish for some reason. Also, like @ChubRub, I do not feel particularly hungry after exercising, but I will eventually in a couple hours or so, and I’ll eat if I’m hungry. Long story short, at 6 weeks out, maybe just eat if u are hungry, while sticking to your prescribed calorie range (and don’t forget to get your protein and water in!) Good Luck! P.S. I am NOT a medical professional and am providing anecdotal comments based on my own experiences. It’s advisable to check with your doc when starting a new workout and nutritional regimen ❤️

I feel it's time to tell me story as best I can and hopefully it will give the new comers some hope and take away their worries or anxiety about surgery. Okay I have a very dysfunctional childhood and I think maybe subconsciously I turned to movies and food as a way to cope until alcohol came along but all those things combined made me gain weight massively in my teen years. As a child I was tiny but after my father passed and my stepfather came in the picture; he was a tyrant; life changed dramatically. Anyway fast forward to the end of high school I had reached over 250lbs and by 21 I was 320lbs and my weight fluctuated over the years between 300-320 until I finally found a way to get bariatric surgery.. I always believed surgery was for the rich people and I was never rich... But I found out randomly that health insurance would cover most of surgery and I'd never had health insurance before because here in Australia we have an amazing Medicare system that covers pretty much everything to do with doctors and hospitals except for elective surgery like bariatrics; unless you're like super morbidly obese and even then it can take 3 years and numerous hurdles.... So I researched and researched for months and months and spoke to multiple surgeons offices until I found the perfect surgeon; I needed to get health insurance first then do the waiting period which I used to save up the gap and that gap covered absolutely everything from first meeting until surgery and hospital was covered. I met the surgeon and his doctor and got information and told them I wanted ROUX EN Y BYPASS; and we all agreed that was the best decision as I had bad type 2 diabetes and it would only get worse. I weighed in at 322 there and then and I just wished and hoped the surgery would help me to get down to at least 200 maybe 190; I just wanted to be healthy and happy and of course to look better and feel better in myself. Anyway from first consultation until the surgery day was about 4 months had a few meetings with surgeon and he does a very direct approach no need for all the tests and stuff just my medical history and some blood tests and a big discussion was about it and he was ready to go. I was advised to do at least 2-3 weeks low carbs/protein shake diet before surgery and to try lose at least 10lbs; but I literally woke up one morning 2 months before surgery and decided there and then to kick start my journey and started on protein shakes and I actually found a brand and flavor that I actually loved. It tasted just like chocolate milkshake even though I only used water to mix it up i tried a few different brands but they were either too bland or no taste at all I like flavor and I like a little sweetness in my shakes... And I've been using the same shakes in bulk powder form for months without any issues at all... So I started on shakes and they literally filled me up and I was determined to show the surgeon I meant business. i was amazed how quickly the weight came off because I was ONLY on shakes Max 600cal preop; I dropped so much water weight it was amazing. By surgery day I had already dropped from 322 to 257lbs and the surgeon was so proud. i went into the hospital early without only water that morning so my sugar was actually low so they made me wait a few hours longer and I went in to surgery I think 3pm and next thing I know I was awake in ICU a few hours later and surgery was done but oh boy was it painful for me; I'm not sure why but I was in pain for like 2 days luckily I was given good drugs through the IV and slept most of the 2 days... By the 3rd day I started drinking a small glass of protein shake and was sipping water each day; here in Australia the surgeon is very cautious so I actually spent 6 days in hospital was fine I had my own private room and bathroom and was really well looked after.... By the 3rd day they finally took the drain out and I had a shower for the first time and a BM which was like sticky black green like a baby; oh the shower felt amazing on my poor sore belly; I think I had 5 incisions sites and a very tight bloated belly. Each day I would walk the halls of the hospital and say hello to the nurses and other times I would rest and watch TV but by like the 5th day I was feeling really good and was ready to go home but because I lived over 2hrs from the surgeon and hospital they made sure I was 110% fit and healthy; they checked my blood sugar and blood pressure multiple times a day and they said everything was fine, by the time I left the hospital they had taken me off multiple medications and it felt Great. The ride home in my mates car was a little rough but it felt Great to be home and in my own bed my big bed not the single bed in hospital... It's hard to remember everything I went through its been over 8 months since I left the hospital but I do know I was still a little sore when bending or carrying shopping bags for the first few weeks I had to be careful.... Showering was amazing my bandages on my incisions came off on their own after like 3 weeks.. I was given a guideline diet but Ive always been a strong independent personality so I just chose to do things my way; of course I was glad for the surgery and the surgeons advice but I felt is my body; my life I need to do it my way so maybe I was lucky but I didn't even think about food for months like literally I lived off shakes and yoghurt for months before I really started actual food and of course the weight kept coming off everyday it was amazing. For the first 3 months I think I was on maybe 500cal a day with next to no carbs or sugars... I didn't feel hungry at all... Shakes kept me going... Every couple of months I had to buy new clothes, I couldn't believe how much I changed one month to the next and people who hasn't seen me in a few months were shocked ever time they saw me.... i never kept it secret from anyone; I was proud of my decision to finally change my life and possibly extend my life, I was enjoying the complements and I was lucky I don't think I stalled for more than a week and I never had any complications at all except for diarrhoea BM for a while and sure I threw up a few times when trying different things or eating too quickly... i started drinking regular coffee by 3 months and my surgeon said it was fine as long as I don't get dehydrated.. I was drinking tea as well and by 6 months I actually decided to treat myself here and there with some sugar free energy drinks and it has not impacted me or my weight loss one bit. Now I'm over 8 months out I can eat most things just small portions; I've even had bread a few times just have to take it very slowly... I've had pasta a few times and even had some chocolate over Easter without any issues at all and still continued to lose weight... i will admit recently I've had some treats here and there but that was once I got in to maintenance mode... I've pretty much been in maintenance now over 2 months and pretty much sit around 165lbs but just this week I've seen 163lbs on the scales... i don't log my food much now but I do keep a mental tally of my calories and such and I do still check my weight regularly to make sure I'm doing well.. i had the RNY bypass and it was 120cm and it was amazing; I've had a blast and I've lost pretty much 50% of my original weight. FROM highest of 322 to the lowest 162.8lbs just the other day.... i felt the need to share my story everything has been positive for me. It has totally changed my life and transformed my life and the way I see myself... I'll be 36 in 3 weeks but I feel better than I have in 20 years... i want everyone to read my story and see it is possible to have the BYPASS without any issues and also my 3 months blood tests were perfect so no issues with vitamins either just have to remember to take them everyday.. The one issue I will say was my hair did get thinner and would grow slower but never fell out.... I'm sure in time it will get better I've gone from being the FAT friend to the SKINNY friend... i look and feel amazing and my BMI has gone from 43 to 22. I've dropped 159lbs or 72KGS in 10 months including my preop... From 146KG to 74KG and below every goal I thought I wanted. I don't mind because most people will bounce back 10-20lbs anyway plus when I do start to build muscle that will add a little weight because right now I'm kinda skin and bones LOL feels weird saying that about myself but its pretty good... I'm really hoping I'll meet someone soon and start a family and live a long long life 😁😁😁 So if anybody is curious about RNY BYPASS don't be afraid... Success is possible!!!! A few pics before and after

Good luck, @NurseJaci13! We head down to TJ early Friday morning from LA, I am super nervous to have such an invasive elective surgery, but all the research I am doing reflects that Dr. Illan seems to be a really talented surgeon. Fingers crossed that all goes well, and I have an uneventful & speedy recovery. I'm not interested in losing weight super fast, but I am hopeful that this tool simply helps me manage my weight around a healthy BMI for the rest of my life. It's not 100% clear to me how durable the loss of plasma ghrelin is from the removal of the fundus, and whether physical hunger returns with the same intensity as pre-surgery at some point in the future. Additionally, I am hopeful that the new stomach does not relax or stretch into a pre-surgery size, which seems unlikely, based on my research. As long as I can manage to break my emotional attachment to food, and reprogram my perception of food from anti-depressant/comfort source to a dispassionate source of fuel during the initial 12-24 months or so of tightest restriction, I should be successful over the long term. I will be watching out for your posts, too, and am so happy to meet another of Dr. Illan's patients here. I will update everyone on my experience with him & surgical outcome over the coming weeks. take care ❤️

The date came so fast, was totally not expecting this for another 6 weeks. Havent had a smoke since July 10th, will have blood drawn on the 17th, hoping that's enough time to get this crap out of my system. I dont want to fail before I even get started

recovery from both surgeries is about the same. I've never seen any anecdotes about recovery from sleeve being easier than recovery from bypass. bypass: statistically, bypassers lose more weight, but we're talking a few lbs, and besides, those are just averages. Some sleevers lose a lot more than bypassers, and vice versa. It comes down to the individual and how committed they are to their plan. There are people on here who've been wildly successfully with both surgeries, and people who have failed both surgeries. It comes down to commitment. If you stick to the rules, you'll lose the weight. weight loss is faster with bypass, but not by that much. And they equal out after a few months. If you have a significant amount of weight to lose, you're going to have loose skin no matter how fast or slow the weight comes off and no matter which surgery you have. I don't think it makes a difference at all which surgery you have when it comes to loose skin. there is malabsorption of vitamins with the bypass, but deficiencies are rare as long as you keep on top of your vitamins (you'll have to take vitamins with the sleeve as well) (p.s. the malabsorption that Mikey mentioned - the malabsorption of calories with the bypass - that is temporary. Lasts maybe two years tops. Your system gets smart and at some point is able to suck every calorie out of whatever food you eat again. I'm talking here about malabsorption of vitamins. That is permanent, but if you keep on top of your vitamins, you're very unlikely to have problems with this) only about 30% of bypassers dump, so don't count on that happening. I, unfortunately, have no trouble at all eating sugar. I wish I did, but...no. sleeve - I'm not sure why people think this surgery is less "drastic", although many do think this. Cutting out 80% of your stomach and throwing it on the garbage doesn't seem much less radical to me than sectioning off your stomach with staples and moving your small intestine up. They're both pretty radical... stomach stretching - this actually isn't very common, from what I've read. If it happens, it's due to chronic overeating - day after day of overstuffing your stomach. Which hopefully you would not do after going through something as drastic as surgery. We all have our days, but you'd have to really work at stretching your stomach. the only things that really should be strongly considered when making a decision is if you have health issues that would make one surgery more appropriate than the other. If you have GERD, go with bypass. If you have diabetes - well, either surgery can help with that, but the bypass tends to be more effective with putting it into remission. Otherwise....??? It really comes down to personal choice. as far as your past eating disorders go, if you're still dealing with those, or are worried about those coming back, therapy is the best way to deal with that. Surgery doesn't really help with that. There are many bariatric patients who work with therapists, and there's nothing wrong with that!!

I hear you @MIKEYY84. I’ve lost 45% of my body weight. I never would have believed it. Having a fast metabolism for the first time in my adult life is amazing. It’s a wonderful time. I do understand how challenging it can be to maintain while we’re in this sweet spot. I lost 10kg more than I had planned & took months to find the balance. Now, I feel like I eat all day & don’t exercise at all - can’t afford to burn the calories. I do still avoid sweet things, bread, pasta, rice, etc. I know this will change though. My metabolism will slow & I’ll have to drop some of my snacks & start exercising again to maintain the weight I am now. I weigh myself almost everyday to monitor any changes so I can modify my diet & activity when needed. Congrats on what you’ve achieved. Amazing!

Did anyone find themselves start to go back and forth between procedures before getting a surgery date? I find myself flip flopping between roux en y and gastric sleeve. At first I picked the sleeve but then I thought since it's the same prep I should go for the bypass since it gives better weight loss results. Now I'm thinking I don't want to be having malabsorption and the sleeve is fast to recover. Arggggg! Sent from my SM-A102U using BariatricPal mobile app

For years, my doctor has told me to stop dieting. In fact, she's told me all the dieting I've done has made me fatter. She's preached lifestyle change, over and over, but I just couldn't make the change until now. She wasn't onboard with my surgery because I didn't have health issues, but I think she might be changing her mind because I'm doing so well. I haven't lost crazy-fast and I'm feeling great, labs are good. I'm only 5.5 months out, so it's still new, but I'm listening to my doc now. No crazy diets, just eating healthy and exercising. Maybe, just maybe, the surgery got me on track! Do you feel you have finally made a lifestyle change ?

I kinda felt that way too. I got to have my test like 3 weeks b4 my surgery. The results came back very fast and negative. I just know u will have the same. It will all work out just like u want it. Hopefully your just getting cold feet. It is gonna be incredible 😍 no worries 👍

Really? Peanut butter? Interesting. I need fast acting sugars then. Doesn't need a large amount but it has to be sugar because of, well - low blood sugar!

I’ll be 14 months on Monday and have been maintaining for about 4 months now. It took a few months to sort out my maintenance plan which is why I dropped below my goal weight (not that I’m complaining). Yes, I eat more than half a cup of food. For lunch & dinner I eat 80-100g of protein & 1/3 cup vegetables or a good cup of shredded lettuce but I do this over 25-50mins. If I try to eat more quickly my restriction kicks in something fierce. I also eat three snacks a day. At the moment I’m in the sweet spot with a fast metabolism & I’ve discovered I’ve a very small window of how much I consume to maintain (skip a snack & I lose, eat a little more or have an extra snack & I gain). The snacks will go as my metabolism slows. I tend to be pretty consistent with the foods I eat & stick to a routine of when I eat to ensure I get in my protein (I aim for 50g for my current weight). I try to avoid sugar, limit carbs to multi & whole grains (no bread, rice or pasta), avoid starchy vegetables, no carbonated drinks (except an occasional soda or tonic water) & a glass of wine or gin about once a month. There are days I feel hungry & days I don’t. From month 5, I was learning about me, how I needed to live my life, what I could eat (what my tummy could tolerate), what I should eat & putting it into practice. It still takes work every day & it always will for me. What the next six months will hold for you will depend on how far along you are in your weight loss journey. Be aware that what works for me or others may not work for you. Best advice I was given was to listen to my body. Take a breath. Put your cutlery down. And ask yourself are you really hungry? Do you really need that extra bite? I’m so glad I had this surgery. I hope you continue to have success & reach all your goals & not just the one on the scales. 😁

@613cnn... That would be very frustrating. I wish I could offer some suggestions but I'm with you in the frustration. Tho it sounds like you are even more stalled than I am so far. Have you spoken with your dietician? I've been thinking of calling just to say "Am I eating enough? Too much? Am I too sedentary? How is little to no loss POSSIBLE with these numbers?" RE: the throwing up. UGH. I'm so sorry. I'm hoping it was just the one time. I too had one big throw up scare and thought "Oh no! This is going to be my life!" But it hasn't since. So try and keep thinking positive. Maybe it was a fluke. A little something too fast or too soon. But yes, I'm with you. This first month was suppose to be our glory losses and it seems we're not getting that nice high number reward. Here's hoping for next month. What choice do we have but to press on with hope? ONWARD!!

I have been doing intermittent fasting and restricting my calories for several months to lose weight before surgery. I have lost about 60 pounds. When my surgery was scheduled, I had a feeling of panic when I thought about all the foods I will not be able to eat anymore, so the week or so before my liquid diet, I planned out all the things I wanted to eat one last time. But I didn't want to undo all the weight I have lost, so I made my "food funerals" fit into my calorie limits. Sometimes that meant fasting for the rest of the day to save all of my calories for dinner, and splitting a piece of cheesecake between two days. Maybe you can try that -- go ahead and have that bagel or those cookies, but put a limit on it. And please, have a doughnut for me... I'm on my pre-op liquid diet now and I never got a chance to have that one last doughnut.

I on average stay under 800 and between 65-80 grams protein daily. But I am also not losing at fast as you, I wasn't having enough stamina for hiking when I was at 600ish calories, like physically felt like I couldn't go further and make it back, so I just upped it. Now when I am hiking I don't feel completely exhausted before the end. I saw my doctor for my check up and he seemed please with my loss so far and he was fine with my calorie intake. I think it all depends on how you personally feel too, never pushing yourself to eat more just to ear more. IDK

MsMocie I can relate to a T right down to cutting my own hair in a similar state of mind last month...It’s seriously distressing to lose so much hair so fast and seemingly no end in sight, I broke down and bought a “hairpiece” wig, which was crazy expensive for a small amount of human hair...My hair loss happened about 4-5 months post opp. I have a lot of baby hair which is encouraging I am using the Keranique Shampoo and Conditioner right now but not any of the hair growth chemicals as I’m hoping I won’t ever need it...the Keranique shampoo and conditioner is blah in my opinion it smells too pharmaceutical and I really don’t have an opinion yet on whether it works or not, I bought some hair gummies too as I’m obviously lacking vitamins because my nails are weak and brittle too which wasn’t a problem before either...so in a span of a few months I’ve become preoccupied with manicures and hair just to maintain an acceptable level of self esteem...sigh....I also turn 40 next week as if I need my $#!! to go to heck now, not to mention my complexion is wack...never had acne, always use good products and suddenly I’ve had breakouts...but life is weird for us all right now isn’t it?? Take care

Maybe its not so much bypassers vs. sleevers who have “dietary restrictions”, but dumpers vs. non-dumpers (across ALL surgery types). I am sleeved and I dump. I know there are other sleevers on here who dump also. It’s just luck of the draw I guess. With that said, I do on occasion have a dessert anyway (but Im 20+ months out and been in maintenance for over a year). Sometimes I won’t dump, but most times I do. I do find the effects worse when I eat said dessert too fast, or if my stomach is empty when I have it.

Losing regain is tough (not to mention slow), but people manage to do it. Some people have had luck with intermittent fasting or Weight Watchers (their new plan sounds intriguing). Others go back to way they were eating in the first year or two after surgery - not all the way back to protein shakes and purees, but focusing on protein first, then non-starchy veggies, and then, if you have room, maybe a small serving of fruit or "good" (like whole-grain) carb. If you do this method, you'll probably want to be mindful of calories as well. I still track mine at five years out - when I don't, my weight starts heading north pretty fast.

Surgery day will be here before you know it, time goes fast. My one tip would be follow to your surgeon or dietician's post op guidelines particularly in the first three to six months. There will be times when you may have a slip up but don't let that hinder your progress, get back on track immediately. Good luck!

28 months out and this is the best advice! Protein is king so get your protein and if you can then some vegetables. I lost most of my weight very fast and have been mostly stable except for COVID-19 quarantine. (I gained 3 lbs) but I am still under my goal weight. After all this time I still never get what I call hungry, but I do eat as I need to get my protein. The only problem I have is that even though I do not get hungry food still tastes really good. So if I overeat even a little bit I pay for it in pain or dumping. Just be careful what you eat and how much! I had 3oz of sea bass tonight and later had a small apple sliced and now I am suffering. Someday I will learn...My DR says you will figure it out on your own. I agree everyone has their own journey in finding out what they can and cannot eat and how much.

Mushies start tomorrow. 2 days earlier than I thought. And thank goodness because I’m going nut. Yesterday I had French onion soup at an alarmingly fast rate. And put some croutons in it. And today I had two chicken wing flats - with the skin off. I’m concerned I’m going to mess something up. Have to get my head straight.

I’m 13 years out and I weigh 3x daily . I have a danger zone number, if I hit it I take action fast .

I am a 40 yr old female, starting BMI 35, and I had the sleeve 4 months ago. I didn't have diabetes yet. But I was clearly on the fast track to get there in a few years. (I also had really bad fatty liver and high triglycerides since my early 20s.) My dad got diabetes at about the age I am now, and he's absolutely miserable now in his mid 60's. I was on metformin, I was hungry all the time even after eating, and my fasting blood sugar had been in the pre-diabetic range for 4 years and was continuing to inch up. Preventing diabetes was the MAIN reason I went ahead with the surgery. Looking better is nice and all, but I take surgery pretty darn seriously and would have never done it just to lose weight. Back in January, I read some articles about how bariatric surgery cures diabetes about 80% of the time. (It also causes similar significant reductions in long term mortality from other conditions like cancer.) 2 months later I went under the knife. I did self-pay in Mexico - you may also have to do self-pay since your BMI is low. Surgery certainly comes with risks, so don't let anyone make your decision for you (surgeons always think people should have surgery. 😂) But if I had it to do over again, I would have gotten the surgery about 5 years ago if I had known these facts sooner. Diabetes is a chronic, progressive disease. Even if it's relatively controlled (or even if you're not actually diabetic yet), the fact that your blood sugar and insulin is elevated compared to a normal person is causing damage to your body every single day. The sooner you treat it, the longer you're likely live and the healthier you're going to be while you're alive. My mom was pretty worried when I told her this plan, especially since I did it in Mexico. But after she talked to my sister-in-law, who is an endocrinologist, my mom felt a lot better. My sister-in-law tends to be the cautious type, but even she told my mom that I was the perfect patient for bariatric surgery, and that earlier was better than later for my long-term health. I googled around, but couldn't find any specific information about OCD and bariatric surgery. In general, obese people tend to have more psychiatric conditions than the average population, and on average, psychiatric conditions tend to improve a bit after surgery. However, surgery does about double the suicide rate. People also can struggle with their self image changing and things like that. I'd be sure to talk to your psychiatrist/therapist before and often about this, but I wouldn't necessarily let that hold you back. As far as the eating with clients issues, I think those are manageable long term. Especially if you go with the sleeve over a bypass type surgery, what you can eat won't change too much long term - you'll just eat less. At 4 months out, I'm having steak for dinner and enjoying the heck out of them - just 4 oz instead of 12. Men are less likely to get intrusive comments about their diet and body than women, so hopefully it won't matter much in the long term. You'll want to figure out how you'll deal with it in the first few months though, while your diet is still pretty restricted, and you might be dealing with pain or nausea when you eat. You could certainly tell people you recently had some other type of gastric surgery during this time. In fact, they often repair a hiatial hernia at the same time they do a sleeve, so it wouldn't even be a lie. Gallblader removal is also a common procedure that comes with dietary changes.

You first have to define what YOU mean by intermittent fasting. Do you mean time restricted feeding where you still eat each day but within a small time window of 6 - 8 hours? Do you mean water fast only beyond 24 - 48 hours? or a 5 day eating/2 day fasting schedule? These are all very different beasts with very different considerations.

Good luck, fast and painless recovery to you!