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Half way through my pre op diet. I haven't done the best with it, yet I'm down 22 lbs in a little over a week. I checked with my doctor since that didn't seem right, and it seems I was retaining way more fluid than I thought due to my previously poor diet and exercise. Hoping I don't burn out on protein shakes before surgery haha. Joking aside, the headaches and fatigue are really disruptive, as are the frequent bathroom trips from all the water.

Another thing to remember is a lot of nerves were cut during your surgery so signals to tell you things like you’ve had enough, eaten too much or doing damage just aren’t getting through or aren’t getting through clearly. You getting sick is a sign you’ve over done it. As I always say all because you can doesn’t mean you should & at the moment you really shouldn’t. It takes 8 weeks or more to fully heal & the staged return to eating is in place to protect your tummy & all those sutures & staples holding it together, & support your healing. It’s also important to follow portion size recommendations. Plans & requirements are different but double check how much you are allowed for a meal. I was allowed 1/4 - 1/3 cup from purée slowly increasing to about a cup at 6 months but that was my plan your’s could be different. You’re right about the head hunger trying to convince you you’re still hungry. You can always tell if it’s head hunger if you’re wanting to eat a specific food, flavour or texture. The desire for solid food or anything you can actually chew is a head hunger that is challenging for many from the liquid stage. Plus not being able to have something always makes you want it more. Recognising it for what it really is a big part of doing that head work & learning it to manage it Many of us find distraction helps with head hunger. Read, craft, play a game, phone a friend or family member, go for a walk, check social media or this forum, etc. Sipping a warm drink can be helpful too. (I could count green or decaf tea in my fluid intake. It may be worth double checking if you can count your decaf tea.) All the best.

**Trigger warning: domestic abuse** My name is Georgia, I am 27, and I have been 'bigger' for my entire adult life, and a lot of my childhood too. I have PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) insulin resistant type, and an Underactive Thyroid, both of which cause me to put on weight quickly, retain weight, and makes losing weight extremely difficult. I can't even remember the countless amounts of fad diets I have been on, or the amount of times I have tried to lose weight, but failed again and again. When I was 18 I was going to the gym 5-6 times a week for over an hour, I was doing HIIT training and Tai Chi, and I was jogging, eating well etc, but I still only managed to lose 2 stone in a year - make it make sense! I didn't know back then that I had underlying conditions that made it hard for me to lose weight, so I internalised a lot of the guilt in not being able to get healthy, and it resulted in me putting on around 6 stone from then until now. I was also a victim of domestic abuse/violence, and a lot of the verbal abuse that I suffered was centred around my weight - constantly being told by my ex-partner that I was fat, he would pinch my thighs, tummy, arms etc, telling me he was seeing how many inches I could lose. It completely broke me, and I started binge eating in secret. He ended up leaving me, telling me that he could no longer be with me due to my weight and how it made me sexually unattractive. I think I am probably just over 20 stone now. My back hurts when I walk, I cannot look in any mirrors without feeling low, I don't feel comfortable going out in public, and I am exhausted all the time. Every time I went to my GP about something, I was always told I needed to lose weight, as if it were a miracle cure and so simple to do just by trying hard enough. It was always blamed on me not putting in enough effort - and those in the UK will know that the NHS isn't a simple thing to navigate and the waiting lists for obesity support are long and often disheartening. Around 2 years ago I was put on a waiting list for weight loss management with the NHS. I was finally accepted in September of 2023. This is a year long commitment to the weight loss management pathway (Tier 3), in which you have to lose 5% of your weight in order to then be put on to another waiting list for a referral for the actual WLS (Tier 4). I have been told that this can take a further 4-6 years. I had a harrowing thought that by the time my WLS actually came around, I'd be well into my 30s, still desperately unhappy with myself, and I would have put on even more weight and probably be immobile. I can no longer do this to myself. I deserve better. I made the decision to look into private weight loss surgery, and I had a free consultation with a recommended surgeon just before Christmas 2023. This was genuinely the first time that a medical professional sat me down and talked to me with some humanity about my weight. He told me that with my conditions (particularly the insulin resistance, and hormonal imbalance), that my metabolic rate needed an entire reset, and this was not possible to do without surgical intervention. He explained that the difficulties I have had in trying to lose weight and being unable to, are not my fault (though of course I accept responsibility that getting here in the first place is my fault), and that surgery is recommended as perhaps the only thing that will enable me to lose the weight. I have never felt so seen, and so heard. I booked in my surgery for May 2024 there and then. So, now I start my journey, and I was looking for support, and here I am. I look forward to posting on here and using this thread to update everyone once I have had my surgery! I am quite an open and honest person, so if anyone wants to reach out to talk, my inbox is open

I highly recommend looking at the videos on the Pound of Cure channel on You Tube, which go into detail about how to eat to lower your body's metabolic setpoint. Foods that are ultra-processed and high carb push your body's setpoint, the weight it wants to maintain, higher, where nutrient dense foods like leafy green vegetables, beans, nuts, and seeds, make your body want to maintain a lower weight. As I have been preparing for surgery, I found the Pound of Cure book on Amazon and implemented many of the basic changes it recommends, such as cutting out processed foods, breads, sugar, and artificial sweeteners, and eating more vegetables, fruits, and beans. I lost 15 pounds in around 3 months without counting calories or ever feeling hungry. And I can also say that in the past several weeks, as the holiday treats have infiltrated my house, I have not been as good about eating that way, and to no one's surprise, my weight has shifted upward. I will be returning to better nutrition as soon as the last of the ham, sweet potatoes, and pie from Christmas dinner is out of the house! I recommend starting with these videos that I've linked below (and then, if you're like me, binge watching the rest of Dr. Weiner's channel). I find his advice to be a common sense approach to nutrition that you should be able to implement long-term without a lot of pain. Hope this helps!

Hi So I’m two weeks post op and currently struggling to get keep my water intake and vitamins intake. Whenever I take a pill I feel severe discomfort like heartburn for 20 mins and need my husbands help to rub my chest off to move it down. This makes it difficult for me. I have restrictions to have only a spoonful of water each time and wait for 3 mins between the next spoon. This makes it tough to get enough water and my skin is becoming flaky. I also find it difficult to swallow anything with protein powder in it . I think I am losing ideal weight 1lb per day but it also includes muscle loss which I would like to avoid. Any advice or tips that I could get on taking multi vitamins and water intake. Thanks in advance.

And you would have. I realized this past week while going thru years of stuff that I'm finally cleaning out, how long I actually struggled with dieting and weight loss. I found journals and food diaries and counting calorie lists, diet books and recipes etc. It made me sad. I could have avoided a lot of that if I had decided to get the surgery sooner. But I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and am happy with where I am now, I can honestly say, and I've said it before...my only regret is not getting the WLS sooner.

I'm a sleeve to bypass conversion. I had a hernia, that complicated matters. I'm over a decade out from the horror of that sleeve. I'm just over 3 months out with the bypass. The hernia caused issues and the longer healing time was due to it. If I have any pull or ache, its in that area. For 3 months gone, the reflux (was like yours, actually worse, I had carafate to eat anything) is gone. I've had 1 time where some stuff came up like reflux. A mild little one for the 2nd time it happened. That's it. I control how much food goes in. When I dont, I throw up. I've had a bean get stuck (wow was that painful), couple of times I've swallowed 3x instead of 2 for liquids and it was too much. I've thrown up but nothing like before. If I'm really really careful, watch the time and amount of food at one time frame, I'm good. Stay at 2 swallows, I'm good. After the misery of before, this is great! That having been said, I dropped to malnutrition level because of some other medical problems. As of end of last week, I am 8 pounds from being overweight for my BMI. 36 pounds from being normal weight. So I don't think I'll be dropping it like I did my sleeve. I dropped 27 pounds the first month, and that was 27% of the excess body weight.

I am entering week 5 and I agree! I don't feel full, but I know my limits. I measure all my food into 4oz containers. that will be the game until I feel it. As many said above, I think its coming for sure. I rather eat foods portioned to keep the weightloss at the forefront. Currently I have slowed on my water intake.. working on this. on another note...I like to eat warm food 'Hot" the 30 minutes to eat has me reheating my food! it gets cold! lol.

I had my Bypass surgery on November 2nd, one week ago today. I’ve struggled some, been emotional, but mainly can’t stand protein drinks anymore. It’s all I can consume that is liquid/pureed. I was always a very picky eater, mostly because of the texture of food, so liquid/pureed foods are not going well for me. I have 7 more days of this and need some suggestions on what others are consuming post-surgery. Thanks!

I've been a lot more careful with my eating since July, but last week I had a business trip to Las Vegas. I didn't go completely crazy, but I was eating in restaurants every day and the food was so salty. Plus flying, which always causes me some water retention. I weighed myself Sunday, the day after I got home, and I was up 10 lbs! But I know this was almost all water because I weighed today and I'm back down to where I was before the trip. A big, salty Thanksgiving meal and a couple days of leftovers would probably do the trick!

This is so true! Before VSG I would always have the mindset of "starting tomorrow". If I messed up, I would say "Okay I'll try again next week". Consistency isn't about being perfect, it's about being able to stick with something long-term. I, like everyone, have my days. Sometimes I just gotta have a Snickers bar after an exhausting long day. But I sure as hell don't eat one every day after that for a week! The quicker you can learn to pick up where you left off without starting over, the easier lifestyle changes become. Wishing you the best on your journey. Don't hesitate to reach out if you ever need anything.

I don't know what surgery you had, that kind of impacts the answer. If you had a DS I'd steer WAY clear, the carbs in the corn portion will send you running to the bathroom. My nutritionist told all of us regardless of surgery to avoid anything dense and chewy for 6 months as it will ball up inside your tummy and sit like a lump. I'd be especially cautious of this if you had the Gastric Bypass. If you had one of the other surgeries you may be able to eat the meat portion. But I'd caution you to consider the spices. I'm 4 weeks out and if I have anything Mexican with sauce, or spices, or any tomato based sauce other than ketchup, I end up in agony for hours...and then in the bathroom. My healing tummy has decided those things are still just too strong. I can weirdly handle sriracha just fine and have no clue why, but other than that, nope.

I just started my 2-week pre-op diet today. My program makes us do 100% liquids only (with the exception of 3 dill pickles per day 🤣) for the whole 2 weeks, so I've been to the restroom what seems like 80 times already today 😂 It hasn't been too bad yet, thankfully. I had some weird gas pains going on earlier, but they seem to be gone now. I've heard Day 3-4 are the worst for most people, so I'm looking forward to getting past those. So far I've had a "fruity cereal milk" Orgain shake, "Horchata" and "Strawberries & Cream" TransformHQ shakes, and a tropical coconut Protein2O. Someone's lunch at the office smelled amazing, so I went for a little walk to avoid the smells 😅 Hopefully dinner time with my husband isn't too bad. I'm saving my 3 pickles for dinner so I have something to crunch on. I hope everyone else is doing fantastic and for the post-oppers, that you're feeling better!! 💜

FORGIVE THE LENGTHY MESSAGE. NEED TO GIVE CONTEXT I am wondering if any one experienceD this my starting weight was 139kg before surgery on the 15th of January 2023 on day of surgery it was 131kg 2 weeks post-op i was stalled for 8weeks which was not a bother to me at the time i healed quite quickly with no complications and was moved to solids within 3 weeks by the dietitian too. between January and April i lost some weight down to 111kg Since april i have not lost anything. I have gained and lost 3-4 kg since April till date which is September 6th 2023 I do everything many people say on every platform which had never been a challenge namely Monitor what i eat: I eat between 88 - 1200 calories I have more protein than anything eggs, lean meat, chicken, fish, shrimps carbs are mostly bulgur wheat. which i have sparingly 2ce a month. Plantain i have daily to balance my protein intake but not as much as protein. I prob have more grams of protein a day and that includes protein water. I work out 4-5 days a week for up to 1:30 - 2:00 hours each day In April i worked out more 4 days a week 2ce a day 2day time cardio 1:30 hours night time strength training. no weights heavier than 25kg I take 2-3 liters of water throughout the day no compared to 3 months ago. Up to 1liter during my work out and the rest throughout the day. mostly sips. I do get hungry but try to drink water to quench or use the plantain (carb for the day) to satisfy myself i take my vitamins biotin and all recommended as well as powdered collagen Recent bloods shows everything within normal range. I am going into my 5th month and i am still 111kg Since April. My dietitian is numb on what is going on, the nurse recommended liquid collagen ( which makes no sense) and have said hormones.... but hormones cannot affect this 5months straight. I did bloods to check my thyroids and it showed elevated parathyroid (no idea what that means)..... not gotten an explanation as my vitamin levels and calcium levels are normal my nails are very soft and brittle and my hair falls like the weather ( only blessed to have a full head of hair but cant say it is helpful soon) No ...... the clothes i wore in April are still the same September. measurements are the same..... the only win i am getting from this is that my knee and ankle dont hurt as much when i workout. i dont burn out as i used to and i work out more than i used to before which was walking up to 50k-70ksteps a day. I have never been one who drank alcohol and haven't started post surgery. I have never been one who ate junk food like crisps, tacos, burgers. I have not been diagnosed diabetic nor with PCOS i noticed when i had no carbs in my diet i lost fast but when i introduced carbs as suggested by the dietitian everything came on hold I NEED SOME SIGN THAT I AM NOT IN AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE OR A LONG DREAM!!! Cos it feels pointless having done the surgery not to be an effective tool Anyone in a similar predicament before

Hi, I'm feeling much better now.. The first few days we're awful but only nausea, I say only.. I was sitting on the edge of my bed thinking wtf have I done to myself... ( Bit of a drama queen 👑). But I got in touch with the Dr and got some anti sickness tablets (soluble) and within 24hrs I felt so much better. The pre op diet takes some getting used too but on two occasions I had got 2 weeks into it and then it was cancelled. When it came to the last time, I was determined not to go off course and then when I got to the hospital they didn't even weigh me! So I don't know what my pre-op weight was. I'm just going by my pre-assessment weight. I know it's different for everyone, but I don't actually feel like I am losing much weight 🤔. According to my home scales (which may not be any good), I have lost 16lb since my pre-assessment but like I said, I don't know how much of that was the pre op diet... I was even thinking maybe they didn't even do the op just made incisions and it's all physicosymatic... Well you can see where my head is at 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Hi everyone. The mid-year sales are everywhere these days and I was trying to buy new shirts and pants online (my latest addiction). The "problem" that I'm facing is that it seems all the brands that I like only had sales on the big sizes (L, XL, XXL) but not M, S or XS. I don't recall this being a problem in the past haha. It must be a good problem to have then. This made wonder what other "good problems" I had since WLS. Here is what I could think of so far in addition to the one above: - I'm now working size S shirts. I need to find a brand that makes size XS shorts that fits nicely without being too tight. Two years ago, I was on the other end of the size chart / having custom-made shirt - We had a refresher safety training at site last week and I was chosen more than once to demo what we learned. I had to climb ladders, go into manholes (mock ones), confined spaces etc. I was never asked to do this before - I can't use my weight as an excuse for not doing stuff around the house that requires climbing on ladders etc. It would be interesting to hear yours.

After a sip of my protein drink - enough to just swallow my stomach meds it felt like something was stuck after a few dreadful minutes it had to come up. This had happened for a few days even sipping fluids . Doc put me on a new nausea Med Thursday and took me off protein drinks. Yesterday (Friday) I was able to hold down sipping 20 oz flav enhanced water. Tried to eat purée last night a little and it sat until it had to come out . Going to stick with trying to focus on fluids as doc stated if I can’t get enough fluids I’ll have to go to ER for an IV. I was fine until into week 3 1/2 - 4. Anyone have this issue or things you were ok with first 2-3 weeks then your body rejected? Also after sleeve surgery in 2017 I was never able to drink plain water again.

Lots of nerves are cut during the surgery so messages either don’t get through or feel different until you’re fully healed (about 8 weeks). It’s why it’s important to stick to our plans, portion size recommendations, to eat/drink slowly & listen to our bodies carefully. When they do return you’ll be more conscious of them & may find they are different to what you knew. For example, you’ll discover your signals for real hunger vs head hunger are different (no cravings for a specific food, flavour or texture, & I feel restless) with real hunger). Some people sneeze or their nose runs when they’re close to feeling full or had enough. The tightness across your upper chest (makes me want to thump my chest to alleviate it - it doesn’t) is your restriction. This usually doesn’t kick in until you’re on solid food & your nerves are more fully healed. Yours may have started early. It’s usually your signal you’ve eaten too much &/or too quickly. Remember your tummy is quite small now, it doesn’t extend as low down in your abdomen & it doesn’t take much to fill it. Sometimes certain foods can set it off too if they sit more heavily in your tummy. It’s considered a benefit of the surgery. It can fade in intensity over time (years) & we also get better at understanding how much we can eat & so don’t feel it as often which really is the goal. All the best.

I agree. If it works for you it’s ok. Understanding what I eat & when I eat was an important learning for me. Learning & understanding what’s best for me isn’t necessarily what others do or recommend. If having a protein shake in the morning as your breakfast is fine if it works for you. Personally I’m an eat real food person & haven’t touched a shake since week 3 & started purées but that was what worked, & still does, for me. We always say follow your plan, but if it doesn’t work for you, negotiate alternatives or substitutions with your team. As long as you meet those nutrient goals. (BTW BCAA isn’t a complete protein & can’t be counted towards your protein goals. Fine to drink & count as a fluid during or post your workout but not as a source of your protein.) What & when you eat may change as you progress through your weightloss & learn more about nutrition, your body’s needs & what works best to support how you want to live & enjoy your life. All the best.

Drs Weiner & Pilcher are great. Lots of information of their sites & you tube channels. I’d probably avoid a lot of social media around weight loss. Bad advice, scary stories, etc. just to garner attention. I stumbled upon one that actually showed you how to purée burgers & fries to eat two weeks after surgery & how to eat around your surgery. Just horrifying! This forum is great. Supportive, encouraging & a wealth of experience. Was so helpful in the beginning & I still learn things about post bariatric surgery life. Personally, the sleeve has been wonderful for me. Do I have a few little idiosyncrasies? Yep but my tummy was fussy & a bit sensitive about certain things before so nothing really different. I lost all my weight & more & have basically kept it off for 4.75 yrs. Never ever been able to keep weight off for any length of time even a month. Does it take continued work? Hell yes. This is a forever thing. Can you eat the same as you did before? No. But why would you? I mean that’s how you (& we all) ended up obese in the first place. That’s not saying you can’t enjoy things you used to. You’ll focus on how much of it you eat. How often you eat it & even look for healthier, more nutritious versions of those foods. You’ll work out a way of eating that is sustainable, doesn’t limit or restrict you & allows you to live & enjoy your life as you want. Are there risks? Sure but there are with any surgery. They’re not common because the risks are very low (I read appendectomy is higher) & often are related to pre existing conditions. Sometimes issues are discovered before of after surgery because of the more intensive medical testing we undergo & then monitoring. Sometimes it’s just our own body & how it reacts which you can’t really predict. Most are easily remedied or manageable. I didn’t have any comorbidities before my surgery (though they were very likely in my future) so I can’t share my experiences with that. Do lots of research on reputable sites like those of the above doctors’ & here. List down your questions & take them with you to your surgeon. Ask for their statistics & experiences too. All the best with whatever path you decide to follow.

Don’t be discouraged. The sleep study is nothing now. I did mine at home for like 6 days. Then did my follow up. Wow what an eye opener it was. But now I have my cpap machine (it is taking some getting used to) and my surgeon is fine with moving forward. Also, I agree with Netty. I failed to use my preop process time wisely and now I’m 4 weeks out and scrambling. Figure out your vitamins Do some prep meals if you have a family so you don’t have to cook after Get your stuff like journal pill crusher if you take daily meds Large water bottle Maybe if you’re working on the other prep stuff it will take your mind off the insurance thing. I wish I had done more preparation. Just think of it as a blessing you have more time to get things together.

Oh, and as for your mother's concerns. They are valid. The unfortunate fact is that the same mechanisms that help us lose the weight and reverse co-morbidities also restrict nutrients and our ability to get fluids in when we are sick. Sometimes that means we end up in the hospital for fluids or electrolytes. But with a more severe illness sometimes it can lead to low protein levels or low vitamin levels and the body struggles with that, this can happen with ANY of the surgeries, but is of course a little more common with the malabsorption surgeries. This can complicate an illness with an already complicated clinical presentation. I can see how if it got out of hand and wasn't properly treated, it could contribute to someone's death, but it would be secondary normally to their originating condition. However, what I would invite your mother to consider is how pre-existing co-morbidities like diabetes, high blood pressure, and such contribute to severe illnesses as well. If you don't have these now, you probably will in the next 10 years. Those things can kill you too and can make your health much more fragile when dealing with an extra illness, like cancer or severe pneumonia. The only thing I can think of that would be originating from the DS that could kill you is severe protein deficiencies that go untreated, severe vitamin deficiencies that go untreated, and the possibility of bowel obstructions. All three of these things can also happen with Gastric Bypass. They are by no means common with either surgery, but they are a risk to be aware of and watchful for... My uncle was in his 40s when he had his first heart attack. It was also his last heart attack as it killed him. He had all the co-morbidities that I have. I thought long and hard about this before deciding on the surgery. I finally decided I'd rather trade a life of medications for a life of vitamins 4-5 times a day. And a life of being able to move and run and hike, and travel, for a life spent on the couch. And if at the end of my life I get sick and things get unbalanced and that malabsorption does me in, it will still have been a life MUCH better lived than if I had passed up the surgery. And it would (hopefully) be spared the heart attacks, diabetic and high blood pressure complications, possible amputations, etc.. Not everyone would think this way, but I like to go into things with my eyes wide open and I always have to think about the worst before I can let myself dream about the best... I wish you luck in your decision! ❤️

Like mentioned above it depends when exactly post-op you are asking about. I too was one of those weirdly low volume eaters (which, during weight loss phase, equated to being a super low-cal eater) According to my logs at week 6, i averaged 423 calories A DAY (vs. weeks 1-2 when I ate less than that for an ENTIRE WEEK) sloooowwwwwllly worked my way up to about 700-800 cals a day by the time I reached goal (about 7 months post op). I am 5 years post op and maintain now at about 1800 cals a day. (5'2", 51 yr old female, 113 lbs this morning). You will find that the number of calories each of us require to maintain or lose (or gain!) weight varies greatly. The trick is to find out what calories YOU need to lose/maintain/gain, and work that into your eating habits. Note also that this magic caloric number FOR YOU is forever a moving target and will change depending on your health, activity levels, metabolisms, time of year, amount of sleep you get, stress levels, medications, mood, etc., etc., etc. Good Luck! 😍

I just started the process. I still have tests to finish. Baritastic is an app they suggested for me to use, use it and track everything. As I said I just started the journey 4 weeks ago. I've lost 27 pounds just by keeping track. My first dietician visit is in a few days. Track everything. You will be surprised on how much it helps. You can do it.

I am 16 months out. I never made goal I still need to lose 40 pounds . My lowest weight was 173 in August. I had gained weight and was at 187 at my dr. Visit last week. Needless to say my surgeon challenged me to lose 10 pounds in two months. Told him I thouj my sleeve was broken. Turns out I have been grazing. I kept saying few snack won't hurt me. They have killed me and Im so mad at myself. I'm going to Paris in June and want to look fab. This week went back to basics and have lost 6 pounds since monday. I have gone back to basics as everyone on here suggested and it works. 1 Protein shake in morning , greek yogurt for lunch. Lean protein for snack when get home from work. Additional lean protein around 7 pm. Also have gotten in all my Water something I never did before. Keeping my carbs at 20 grams and my protein at 90. I am so grateful. That I have this forum to see that I'm not alone on this journey